Prey For Protection
by Sonia Mari
Summary: What if Bella knew James when he was human? What could make her abandon everything she knows to live with her father in Forks WA? What could make Charlie entrust her safety to the very sort of people that she's running from? AU E/B eventually
1. Chapter 1

**SM owns all things Twilight  
****  


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**Prey For Protection**

"There are no explanations for human evil. Only excuses."

**-Dean Koontz**

Chapter One:

You could see the heat rising off the asphalt as the blistering Arizona sun beat down. We reluctantly stepped out of the air-conditioned comfort of the Paradise Valley Mall, into the sweltering heat, and across the densely populated parking lot to Renee's car. God love my capricious mother, she'd insisted on taking me shopping for what she dubbed 'more appropriate attire' before I left for WA. _What is one supposed to wear when running for their life?_ In spite of the discernible tension that had surrounded us lately, she'd made an enormous effort to keep the air light, even laughing like we did during our more carefree days, when we went on shopping excursions together.

We hurriedly approached her dark blue Toyota Avalon; anxious for it's promise of air-conditioned relief to the oppressive heat. On the way, I couldn't help but notice what appeared to be a red flyer of some sort neatly folded and tucked under the driver's side windshield wiper. It struck me as odd only because I didn't notice anything similar on any of the other cars nearby. Renee saw it too, and she reached out and picked it up as she opened the driver side door to get into the car. She hit the switch and unlocked my door as she slid into her plush leather seat and unfolded the red piece of paper.

Her breath hitched and her eyes widened and darted to me immediately. She furiously wadded the paper into a tight ball and tried to shove it into her purse. I looked at her quizzically, curious as to what on the flyer could have possibly upset her. She pointedly ignored my questioning look as she jammed her key into the ignition starting the car. She moved to check her mirror before backing out of her parking space, and I carefully reached under her arm, playfully snatching the wadded up red paper from the top of her purse.

She yelled something incomprehensive and tried to pry it from my fingers; but I quickly distracted her with a "Look out mom!" calling her attention to the bright yellow SUV that she was about to back into. She slammed on the brakes and cursed under her breath before returning her attention to the task of maneuvering the car out of the busy mall parking lot.

I slid as close to my door as possible, trying to stay out of her reach as I straightened out the crumpled piece of paper. I immediately realized that it wasn't a flyer at all. The blood red color of the paper should've been enough to alert me; it was another message from James. It had been over a month since I'd received anything from him; and with all the packing and planning in preparation for my leaving, I'd all but pushed his letters and poems from my mind. I was surprised that I hadn't thought of it immediately, and Renee's reaction should've made it clear. I felt the sting of tears burning my eyes before I could make out any of the words on the page. I tried to focus on the paper, but my mind was reeling, and I couldn't read through the tears anyway. I shoved the offensive piece of paper into my bag and dropped my head into my hands choking back my sobs.

"Bella…" my mother started soothingly, "don't worry baby. We'll have you on that plane tomorrow morning and you'll be safe in Forks with your dad by tomorrow night." She reached over and smoothed my hair reassuringly, "Everything will be ok."

I can't tell you how desperately I wanted to believe her. I so wanted to be able to take some solace from her words; but I'd been afraid for so long, I wasn't even sure I remembered what it felt like for everything to be 'ok'. It was hard to imagine not having to look over my shoulder constantly. It was nearing impossible to remember the days when I hadn't cringed every time the phone rang or cried myself to sleep while trying to keep at least one eye open. To think that there had been a time when I wasn't afraid of the dark…

It hadn't always been this way… **I** hadn't always been this way. I'd had a pretty normal life once upon a time... I spent two weeks with my dad in Forks, WA every summer until I was twelve. The rest of the time it was Renee and I in Phoenix.

I'd always thought my mother was beautiful. Like me she had brown hair, but where mine was a dull brown hers was, much like her personality, shiny and bouncy and vibrant. Her skin was a peaches and cream color, much more appealing than my own deathly pallor. She had a warm and ready smile that went all the way to her eyes; which were a slightly lighter shade of brown than mine and they seemed to sparkle with her love of life. She was an elementary school teacher and my best friend in the entire world. We were more like sisters than mother and daughter and it had been that way for as far back as I could remember.

She met Phil the summer before I started eighth grade; and they got married the summer before my freshman year. He was by no means unattractive. He was a minor league baseball player, so he was physically fit. He was close to 6'2" tall and weighed in around 235 pounds. He had dark blond hair; his eyes were slate gray, and he had a deep dark tan. Renee lovingly described him as 'quite the catch'. I liked him because he seemed like a good guy and he made my mother very happy.

I met James in third grade. Pesky little Newton Davies was pulling on my pigtails at recess, and James punched him in the gut and told him to leave me alone. His parents had just moved to the area and we became best friends that very first day. All throughout elementary school and junior high we were practically inseparable. He slept over frequently and was a regular at our dinner table. Renee was very fond of him and he loved her like a second mother.

When we were in sixth grade James' father, Cal, lost his job. Things got really rough at home for him then. Cal was a proud man, and the inability to provide for his family was simply not acceptable in his eyes. He looked for another job, but he became really depressed and started drinking when he couldn't find one right away.

I remember at one point thinking that James' dad was handsome. He kept his dirty blond hair cropped short, and it was always flawlessly styled. His eyes were a bright, clear blue and they sparkled when he laughed. He was well built and his love for the outdoors kept him with a glowing year round tan. As time wore on and his drinking increased, his hair became shaggy and always hung limply in his face and looked greasy and dirty. His once beautiful eyes were always bloodshot, he stopped shaving, and sometimes he smelled like he bathed in whiskey. The worst part was that when Cal drank he got angry… **really** angry; a lot of times he even got violent. Sometimes it would be James' mother Sophie, that felt the brunt of his rage, and sometimes it was James. James slept over **a lot** during that time.

Sophie was probably the sweetest woman I'd ever met. She constantly made excuses for her husband, and constantly apologized for his actions and his hateful words. She tried to keep James away from his father as much as possible. She intervened when she could, but she was just a tiny little thing, not much bigger than me at the time, and well over a foot shorter than her husband. She'd convinced herself that once Cal got back to work everything would go back to normal. She loved him too much to actually blame him for anything.

I remember waving goodbye to her many times, from the backseat of Renee's car as we whisked James off to the safety of our apartment while Cal cooled off or sobered up. She'd stand in the driveway waving and trying to prevent the tears from falling from her sad green eyes until we were out of sight. She always wore her strawberry blond hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head, and there was always a sad smile on her pale thin lips. I remember thinking about how unfair it all was, that she was just too good to be so sad.

One night, just before holiday vacation in seventh grade, Cal came home in a drunken stupor. James was sleeping at our house that night, and I thought I would be forever grateful for that fact. He on the other hand would feel forever guilty. Cal went off in a drunken rage and beat Sophie within an inch of her life. Both of her wrists were broken, as well as her nose, her right leg and four of her ribs. Her jaw was dislocated and she'd suffered a moderate concussion in addition to some internal bleeding from where one of her broken ribs nicked her right lung. It was touch and go until they'd treated her internal injuries. James swore he could've prevented it. I think he would've just taken her place. The truth was that he would have willingly traded places with her as opposed to idly sitting by and watching his mother suffer like she did.

A concerned, anonymous neighbor heard the crashes and screams from the house and placed the call to 9-1-1. Cal was taken away in handcuffs and Sophie was whisked off in an ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital where she stayed for five weeks. When he wasn't at the hospital, James stayed with us the entire time. When his mother was finally discharged, he went home to help take care of her. He started doing odd jobs to help pay the bills and he never **ever** complained.

Sooner than anyone expected, his dad came home, and he was worse than ever. He'd get a job, work a few days or maybe as long as a couple weeks before he did something that caused him to get fired. Then he'd sit around the house for weeks and make his family miserable. Eventually he'd go out and find another job and he'd start the whole cycle all over again. James hated being home, but he was also afraid to stay away for long.

In the eighth grade James told me that he loved me, and that he always had. He said he was going to marry me some day, and that we were going to move far away, and raise our own family. He just knew we'd be happy, and he swore that he'd be better than **his** father. He wanted to run away from home; in fact, he talked about it all the time. He wanted me to go with him, but he knew there was no way I would leave Renee. I tried to convince him to just stay with us, but he was afraid that Cal would come looking for him and hurt one of us if he was hiding at our house. I hated it, but I had a horrible feeling that he was right.

The summer before we started high school James and I shared our first 'real' kiss. That was when I realized that I loved him too. He'd always been a 'cute kid', but as we grew up he'd graduated to absolutely gorgeous. He'd let his hair, which was the same dirty blonde as his father's, grow out to his shoulder blades and he usually wore it pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His eyes were my favorite of his feature. I swore I could get lost in his pale blue eyes; and they were so expressive! When he was angry his eyes would turn a deep icy blue, when he was happy they were more like the pale blue color of the summer sky; and when he was sad or worried, they would darken with the exception of a light ring around the pupils.

Renee, being one of the most observant people in the known universe, picked up on the difference in our relationship immediately. James was still always welcome to sleep over; however it became custom for him to sleep on the couch in the living room, instead of on the floor in my room where he'd previously slept.

As soon as we started our freshman year of high school it immediately became apparent that things were destined to change. For starters, for the first time since we'd met, James and I didn't share a single class. This meant that the only time we had together during the school day was at lunch. Between the worries brought on by his home life and the time he spent working, James' interest in school was waning at best. I, on the other hand, was positively enthralled with everything about high school. I later found out that James regularly left school after walking me to my 1st period class, only to return in time to meet me by my locker at the end of the day.

I complained about our schedules to Renee when I got home from school that first day. She listened sympathetically and then she mentioned that it would probably be good for both of us to spend a little time apart. She said that we'd been 'attached at the hip' since elementary school and that she thought it would do us both good to make more friends, even going so far as to call us borderline antisocial. Which wasn't at all true… I just really liked hanging out with James, and he really liked hanging out with me. That was all.

I did end up making some new friends, almost in spite of myself. I was even invited to a slumber party at Tiffany Saunders' house that very first weekend. She was ridiculously pretty **and** popular. She was the kind of girl that ends up having all the boys making fools of themselves trying to impress her. She always wore her platinum blonde hair twisted into a long braid that hung down almost to her waist. She had bright blue eyes and a much more developed figure than I had. She was several inches taller than me, and I'm almost ashamed to admit that I was genuinely surprised to learn that her physical beauty paled in comparison to her inner beauty. She was in my Homeroom, Algebra, and Gym class. I thought she was one of the nicest, sweetest people I'd ever met, and I was actually excited at the prospect of going…

Well, at least until I told James about it. He kind of freaked out on me… Asking me what I knew about Tiffany Saunders and why I'd want to hang out with her. Then he was yelling and complaining about how we never got to spend any time together any more.

He'd never acted that way before, and to be honest, it scared me a little when he yelled at me; but then he seemed to feel really guilty. He said he was sorry at least a hundred times. He said that he was just really stressed out and he missed me like crazy and it got the best of him. I backed out of the sleepover Friday afternoon claiming cramps.

That seemed to set the tone for the rest of the school year. If I tried to join a group or activity James got angry. If I tried to make plans with other people he got angry. Each and every time he got angry he would yell and curse and call me names, usually just inconsequential things like stupid or selfish, but sometimes it was worse… He called me a 'heartless fucking bitch' once, when I mentioned going shopping with Tiffany and her sister Amanda. Yeah. I didn't see where it fit either…

He wasn't **always** bad then either. James had good days; and when James was having a good day, if I didn't do anything to make him mad I had a good day too. We spent a lot of evenings on the couch in my living room watching movies and snuggling. Those were some of my favorite times with James.

"Hey! Bella, are you alright?"

I jumped as the sound of Renee's concerned voice ripped me from my reverie. We were parked in our driveway; I'd been totally oblivious to everything around me the entire trip home. "Yeah… Sorry mom… Just thinking."

She smiled warmly and reached forward to caress my cheek. "My dear, sweet, beautiful daughter…" she cooed. "Everything's going to work out Bella; I know it's hard to believe right now but have faith. Things are going to get better for you; I can **feel** it. Just be strong a little longer sweetheart." Her hand slid down my arm and when it came to rest over my own hand she gave it a reassuring pat and said, "Come on, let's go finish getting you all packed. Big day tomorrow!" she added with what sounded very much like forced enthusiasm.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

The next day, the trip to the airport was downright horrible. Renee's husband Phil totally freaked out when he heard about the note on the car. He was convinced that James was going to follow us to the airport and that he would try to physically prevent me from getting on an airplane and leaving Phoenix. The tension in the air was palpable. We got to Sky Harbor International Airport at a little before 9am and went over my itinerary for what seemed like the one-hundredth time. I was scheduled to leave at 10:59 for Minneapolis, MN, where I had a ninety-minute layover. At 4:30pm I would depart Minneapolis for Seattle Tacoma International Airport where I'd meet Charlie and set off on the nearly four-hour drive to the rainy town of Forks.

I got checked in and said my goodbyes to Renee and Phil. "I'll call Charlie as soon as you get on the plane Bella. You call me as soon as you land young lady," she demanded, sounding more motherly than she ever had in her free-spirited life. She wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace, and I could feel her tears soaking through the shoulder of my thin cotton blouse. "You take care of yourself Isabella," she said much more softly, "You know you can always come back baby, once all this blows over and we know it's safe. Everything will be ok."

I nodded slowly and quickly wiped my own tears away before pulling back to look at her one more time. I **had** to be strong, if not for myself, for Renee. I knew that if I broke down in front of her, she'd break down too and then she wouldn't let me get on the plane. I also knew that if I stayed in Phoenix, James was going to hurt someone trying to get to me.

I couldn't take any chances. He knew the easiest way to hurt me and hurt me the deepest would be through my mother. I desperately wanted to believe that he wouldn't actually be able to hurt her. They'd been so close once; but deep down I knew I was kidding myself. So I needed to be as far away from her as I could get. She and Phil were heading to Jacksonville, FL later that same week to check out a team there. I was praying that things would go well for him; and that they'd end up moving to Florida as quickly as possible.

When they announced final boarding for my flight I gave Renee and Phil each one last hug before turning to make my way toward the gates. Holding back the tears was no longer an option; the dam had burst. I heard Renee sobbing behind me; but I refused to turn around. Instead I took a deep breath, strengthened my resolve and quickened my pace; reminding myself that if I turned around I would fall apart and never make it to the plane.

Once I was onboard I stowed my carry-on bag in the overhead compartment and settled myself into my seat, mentally preparing myself for the twelve-hour journey ahead of me. I stared blindly out the window as we taxied down the runway and started our ascent. I didn't notice the shrinking landscape beneath us as the plane left the ground, or the Captain's speech, or anything else that might've been going on. In fact I was surprised when the flight attendant interrupted my thoughts to ask if I needed anything.

"Thanks, I'm fine." I assured her and smiled weakly.

I stood up and pulled my carry-on bag out and rummaged through it until I found my iPod. In the process, my hand grazed what felt like a crumpled up piece of paper. I pulled it out and upon closer inspection I realized it was the note that James had left on Renee's car the day before. I shoved the paper into my seat before stashing the bag back into the overhead compartment. I donned my ear buds and started James' playlist. I took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm my frantically racing heart as I smoothed out the crumpled red page.

When I looked down at James' familiar handwriting I felt fresh hot tears stinging my eyes again before I'd even started reading. By the time I'd finished my breath was coming in short gasps and I was sobbing uncontrollably. The paper itself was of a thick stock and was bright red in color. This had become something of a trademark with James. Every poem, every letter, every threat had come on this blood red parchment. It had been folded in quarters and the word 'Izzy' was written on what had been the front. James had been the only one to call me Izzy. I personally detested the nickname, which was why he'd initially started using it; and somehow over the years it had just stuck. On the inside of the page in James' precise scrawl it read:

'_Don't listen to them Izz, don't believe their lies. They __can't__ protect you. You are mine. Listen to me when I tell you that I will kill anyone that tries to come between us. You'd better hear what I'm telling you and believe my words. I will kill every fucking one of them without thinking twice about it. Do you want that? Do you want their blood on your hands? If so try to run, and I'll let you wipe it from my lips._

_Yes Izzy, I heard that you were going to run. Why are you doing this? God damn it Izzy, you can't hide from me. I will find you. __You are mine__ You have ALWAYS been mine and you ALWAYS will be._

_Mine._

_FOREVER._

_James_

I felt a chill run through me and shivered involuntarily. I leaned my head against the cool glass and stared unseeingly out the window, my mind already slipping back to the past… Desperate to understand how things had gotten so out of control…

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**SM owns all things Twilight  
****  


* * *

**  
**Prey For Protection  
**

"For every ray of beauty there is an equal element of horror."

**-Christopher Pike**

Chapter Two:

Looking back, I realized that James' unpredictable behavior took a turn from bad to worse the summer before sophomore year. On July 2nd he turned sixteen and decided that he was going to drop out of school. He said he'd found a job washing dishes at an all-night diner.

Cal had taken to disappearing for varying amounts of time when he was between jobs; which only added to the family's ever-increasing list of burdens. James felt like it was up to him to be the man of the house in his father's absence. I understood that he wanted to help his mother in any way he could, but I hated to see him quit school.

I didn't get to see him very much at all that summer. He worked into the wee hours, came home long enough to take a nap, and was off to work at his second job before the sun was up. I didn't know anything at all about his second job, except that it was where he'd met Victoria.

I will **never** forget the first time I met her. James didn't have to work that day, so I was hanging out at his house. We'd just finished watching Talladega Nights, and we were still sprawled across his bed talking when the loud rapping on the door startled us both. Before he had a chance to answer, the door swung open and there stood one of the most beautiful women I'd ever seen.

She had bright red hair that fell below her shoulders in large wild curls; and her skin was so white it appeared as though she had never been exposed to the sun. She was wearing a pair of five-inch heels, but she looked to be close to 5'9 without them. She was dressed in a pair of skin-tight black skinny jeans and an oversized lime green tunic belted at her hips with a wide black leather belt. In spite of the fact that it was nearly 8 PM she was also wearing a pair of oversized black plastic sunglasses. She moved with cat-like grace as she stepped into the room, and the slow smile that spread across her face seemed anything but friendly.

"James." I heard her say. Her voice was high-pitched, almost babyish.

James stood up immediately and smiled warmly at the intruder. "Victoria!" he greeted, surprise evident in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

Victoria's mouth shifted into a petulant pout at his question. "Now James," her voice taking on a teasing quality, "if I didn't know any better I'd think you weren't happy to see me. I've been **so** anxious to meet your little friend." She turned to me before adding, "you must be James' Isabella. We've heard so very much about you. My name is Victoria, and these," she gestured toward the door, "are my friends." She nodded toward the doorway at a small group of people indicating, I assumed, that they were to carry on with their own introductions, which is exactly what they did.

"Good evening Isabella," said the dark-skinned man from his place in front of the others in the doorway. He had a thick French accent, and seemed to glide into the room instead of walking. "My name is Laurent. James has told us much about you. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." As he said this he reached out and took my hand in his. His hand was like ice! He bowed his head as he brought my hand up, causing his long dreadlocks to fall forward as he pressed his unnaturally cool lips against my skin. He wore dark jeans and a pale blue button down with the sleeves rolled up. He had a long black duster draped across his arm and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of small wire framed glasses with rose tinted lenses.

I smiled uneasily up at him and nodded in acknowledgement before quickly, but gently pulling my hand from his frozen grip. He smiled at me in return before gliding past me and sitting stiffly in the chair by James' desk.

I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my attention back to the door to see a couple stepping across the threshold. The girl looked young, undoubtedly the youngest of the group, I couldn't imagine her being any more than fourteen years old. Her chin-length dark brown hair framed her narrow face, and she was every bit as pale as Victoria. She was about my height, with a slight, slender build. She wore light blue jeans, a purple cotton t-shirt, and a pair of purple canvas sneakers. She had an almost pained expression on her face, and when she lifted her gaze to meet mine, I nearly gasped out loud. Her eyes were bright red.

We're not talking been-on-a-binge-red, like Cal's eyes looked more often than not, either. Her irises were red. It was obviously contacts lenses, no one's eyes are naturally that color, but it was freaky looking nonetheless. She didn't speak, or even smile; she just stood there silently staring at me with that pained look on her face. She stood so still I could've sworn that she wasn't even breathing.

A moment later, the guy standing beside her broke the awkward silence. He was very big, tall and thick through the shoulders. Like his companions he was dressed casually in snug fitting, dark, blue jeans and a black cotton t-shirt. He had a black Oakland Raiders ball cap pulled down low over his face keeping his eyes hidden. His skin had a slightly olive complexion underneath his chalky pallor; and his black hair was cropped short. He had his arm slung casually around the young girl's shoulders; although he looked to be almost ten years older than her. "Hello Isabella," he said, "I'm Felix; and this," he indicated the girl with a nod of his head, "is Bree. You'll have to excuse her, she's uh… not feeling well today."

I nodded and stood there, uncomfortably staring down at the toe of my shoe as they joined the others on the far side of the room. I heard a murmured conversation behind me; and was surprised when I turned around to see James blankly staring into Victoria's eyes like some lovesick puppy. I tried, unsuccessfully, to quell the feeling of jealousy that immediately burned in my chest, and caused my stomach to become a giant knot.

Victoria saw me looking at them, my mouth agape, and she smiled at me. I saw her lips move, but if she said anything it was too low for me to hear her. I turned, and took a tentative step toward the door, but stopped when she called out to me.

"Isabella…"

When I spun to face her again, she raised her sunglasses and I suddenly felt like the air had been knocked out of me. Her eyes were just like Bree's. I heard a dark chuckling and looked over at her companions; Felix had his ball cap pushed back and Laurent was holding his glasses, all of them were looking at me, and their eyes were the same. All of their eyes were red.

I muttered something incomprehensible about needing to go home and started for the door again. I heard Victoria say, "don't be a stranger," and her tinkling laughter followed me all the way out the front door.

By the time I got home, I was chastising myself for overreacting. I was sure that they were all having a good laugh at my expense. I felt like an idiot, thinking I'd given them the exact reaction they were looking for in wearing the ridiculous contacts.

The following Thursday, James went camping with Victoria, Laurent, Felix and Bree. He said it was an employee get-a-way of sorts. They were supposed to be gone for the weekend, but six days later I still hadn't heard from him so I called his house. His mother answered the phone and told me that he had decided to extend his trip. She seemed nervous; but the truth was she was always sounded nervous anymore.

When the school year started he still hadn't come back. I called his house several times, but each time his mother answered and the conversation was always pretty much the same.

"Hey Sophie, is James back yet?" I'd always ask.

"Sorry sweetheart, he isn't. I did speak with him though, just a couple days ago. He sounded fine dear, please don't worry yourself."

"Right," I'd always respond. "Well, you'll let him know I called?"

"Of course I will dear," she'd assure me. "I'm sure he'll be home soon."

He never called.

My sixteenth birthday came and went, and still there was no word from or about James.

The following weekend I decided to go to his house; but much to my dismay, it was empty. Not empty as in no one was home either, but empty as in totally void of any sign of being inhabited. I peeked through every window I could get to, but every room was just as vacant as the one before it. It looked like no one lived there at all any more.

I went home as quickly as possible and spent the remainder of the weekend in my room crying. The same questions bounced around in my head over and over… _Where did he go? When did he go? Why didn't he say anything?_ I didn't even know he'd ever come back from that camping trip, but it was pretty obvious that he had. I had no idea why he would just disappear like that, but I do know that it broke my heart.

Time was redefined for me after that. I felt like someone had reached in and brutally ripped my heart from my chest. James wasn't just my best friend, he wasn't just my boyfriend; he was **so much** more than that… I couldn't even pretend to be interested in anything. Days blurred into weeks, and weeks quickly became months.

Renee tried everything she could think of to help me out of my funk, but eventually even she decided to just give me a little more time and some space to work things out on my own. By Thanksgiving however, she was threatening to send me to therapy if I didn't snap out of it. So when Tiffany called the following evening, to see if I wanted to go shopping with her I surprised both her and Renee by accepting the invitation.

I decided that for Renee and Phil I'd try the old 'fake it 'til you make it' philosophy. So, the following morning after breakfast, I went through the motions of getting ready to go to the mall. I still felt hollow inside, but I refused to let it show. I'd just finished pulling my hair into a ponytail when I heard Tiffany's black Ford Edge pull up out front. I took a deep breath and glanced at my reflection one last time before heading out.

Renee was so thrilled by the fact that I was at least attempting to 'rejoin the living' (her words not mine,) that she slipped me her credit card. She hugged me tight and whispered, "**try** and have a little fun Bella," as I walked out the door to Tiffany's waiting SUV.

The drive to Paradise Valley Mall was surprisingly pleasant. Tiffany didn't bring up James or my self-imposed solitude or anything vaguely related to the situation. Instead we chatted about family gatherings, holiday plans and Christmas lists. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed her company.

Once we arrived at the mall the day just seemed to fly by. The place was jam-packed with holiday shoppers; but Tiffany dragged me into almost every store in the mall. I was glad I'd eaten a decent breakfast, because we didn't so much as pause all afternoon. We made several trips out to the car to stow our packages over the course of the day in order to keep our hands free enough to keep shopping.

Finally, just before 7 o'clock we were done. We decided to grab sandwiches and smoothies in the bustling food court before retracing our steps and heading for home. We made small talk as we ate and I realized that for the first time since James' disappearance, I had in fact enjoyed myself. Between the festive music playing in the background, the beautiful holiday decorations that hung from every visible surface and Tiff's constant, light-hearted chatter, it was hard **not** to have a good time.

On the way to Tiffany's car I got the distinct feeling that I was being watched. I looked around and could've sworn that I caught a brief glimpse of familiar dirty-blond hair; but when my eyes darted back to where I thought I'd seen it, there was nothing there.

I must've imagined it.

But over the course of the weeks leading up to winter vacation it kept happening. I thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye outside the house, at school and just about anywhere else I found myself. It seemed more common during the evening hours, but there were a couple of daytime 'sightings' as well.

I mentioned it to Renee, and she assumed that it was just my overactive imagination. She said that I wanted to see him so bad that my brain was trying to **let** me see him. I had never been able to confirm a single sighting, so I accepted her theory as likely enough.

The day before Christmas Eve, Renee and Phil went to a Christmas party. I'd managed to avoid going by claiming to need the time to finish wrapping gifts. I'd actually finished all of my gift wrapping the day before, while they were out doing their last minute shopping; but I had no desire to get all dressed up to hang around a bunch of strangers all evening.

I'd just finished washing my dinner dishes and was about to settle down and reread Wuthering Heights for the thirty-seventh time when I heard an unexpected knock at the front door. A quick glance at the clock showed it was 8:36 PM. _A little late for company_, I thought as I strolled toward the door.

I swung the door wide and almost fell back into it as I stood there gaping in shock at the figure that greeted me.

James.

I opened and closed my mouth several times, but at that moment words simply failed me. Was he really standing on my front porch? _What? How? Why?_ I have no idea how long I stood there staring at him slack jawed.

"Hey Izzy, long time no see huh baby?" he asked casually as if he hadn't just up and disappeared for months without a word. "Aren't you gonna invite me in?" he asked, pulling the storm door open and taking a step forward, waiting for me to step aside and allow him entry.

I blinked twice in silent disbelief, and felt my roller coaster of emotions climbing slowly out of shock and begin its plummet into anger.

My brain went into overdrive. He seemed different. His voice, it just wasn't right. It was definitely his, but it sounded different, more melodious, than usual. His hair was exactly the same length, but looked softer somehow. He was wearing those ridiculous, red contacts that his new friends seemed so fond of; and his normally golden skin looked pale and chalky.

I wordlessly stepped back and he stepped into the house, gently closing the door behind him. His gaze locked with my own and before I'd had a chance to scream or yell or cry or demand a single answer I was stunned into silence. I shuddered involuntarily as my emotional roller coaster jumped track and began its sudden descent into fear.

He smirked and then closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Seeming to thoroughly enjoy whatever scent he was picking up.

I didn't know why, but all of a sudden I was terrified of James...

When he opened his eyes again his lips twisted into a grin that I could only describe as evil, and his eyes seemed darken, until they were almost black. He arched his brow and asked, his voice barely above a whisper, "Have you ever **smelled** fear Izzy?"

He stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer to his preposterous question. I shook my head, doubting my ability to form coherent words.

His grin widened, "it's intoxicating Izz, **so** fuckin' sweet." He inhaled deeply again, his eyes fluttering back into his head as he did so.

My eyes darted around the room, seeking a means of escape or self-defense. When he looked at me again there was an undeniable hunger in his eyes. I took a step back but he advanced a step each time I backed up.

"Now, now, Izzy," he cooed at me, "what's wrong? You don't have to be afraid of **me**. Remember when we said we'd be together forever? I can make it happen Izz. I can really make forever happen for us baby. Isn't that what we want? What you want?"

I maintained my slow retreat further and further into the house. He sounded crazy, or high on something. He continued his advance matching me step for step.

"Wh- Where were you?" I asked, hoping to distract him, or at least stall him temporarily.

"I went camping," he shrugged nonchalantly; and then he smiled and my breath caught at just how beautiful he was.

My mind felt foggy, and without deciding to I found myself smiling at him. _He's here_, I thought to myself. _He's safe and he's here and that's more than I'd dared to wish for._ All my questions, all my accusations ceased to exist.

I stopped my retreat.

He pressed on in his advance; stopping only once he was standing mere inches away from me. He crooked his index finger under my chin and tilted my face up toward his. His finger was ice cold, but I was more caught up in his cool sweet breath that seemed to invade my senses.

I loved him, and he loved me

I had always loved him, and he had always been there.

I would always love him. Forever.

He was my everything, and I was his.

I felt his arm slip around my shoulders and he pulled me to his chest. My arms went around his waist of their own accord. I felt his nose in my hair as he deeply inhaled my scent.

There was a tiny voice inside my head screaming for me to run away. Insisting that something was **very** wrong here, and that I was right to fear James. Because although I didn't understand it, deep down I knew that this was in fact, **not** 'my James'.

I heard the voice, and a large part of me acknowledged its validity. However, instead of running or screaming I felt myself lean into his cool, rock hard chest.

He knelt down slightly and swept his free arm under my knees so that he was holding me bridal style. In less than a second we were in my bedroom. He laid me down atop my quilt and sat down beside me.

"James…" I muttered, suddenly exhausted.

He leaned down and I shivered as his cool breath kissed my ear when he whispered, "forever." I felt his cool lips press against my neck before the fog in my mind completely took over and then gave way to an all-encompassing darkness.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

The landing gear hitting the tarmac jolted me from my thoughts. A glance out the window confirmed that we were touching down in Minneapolis; I'd been lost in my own little world the entire flight. The plane taxied to a stop and eventually the passengers began disembarking. I sat in my seat until almost everyone else was gone before grabbing my carry on bag from the overhead compartment and getting off the plane.

Once inside the terminal I quickly located the gate that my connecting flight would be departing from before setting off to find a way to pass the next hour and a half. I wandered the terminal for several minutes before coming across a newsstand. I strolled in and quickly perused the selection of books and magazines; I selected a sudoku book to help pass the time and then made my way across the hallway to coffee shop. I ordered a white chocolate latte' and an apple Danish and spent the next forty-five minutes filling in the sudoku book.

I sent text messages to Renee, Charlie and Tiffany letting them all know that I'd safely made it thus far. Charlie was adamant that I not give away any details in any of my messages. He'd gone so far as to make up a whole 'secret code' system. I was supposed to text them and say, 'Made it so far' from MN, and then I could text Renee and Tiffany from Seattle, and say 'On a roll', once I'd met up with Charlie to let them know I was still safe. Once we got to Forks, I was supposed to text them and say, 'It's all good', to let them know that I'd arrived safely. At that point Charlie was going to replace my cell phone and I wouldn't be able to contact either of them except by email; and even then I couldn't say anything to give away my location. Charlie didn't want James to have any chance of coming across any clues to my whereabouts.

Part of me was annoyed at him for being so completely controlling and for forbidding me to speak to two of the most important people in the world to me. The other part, the larger part, knew that Charlie loved me and had vowed to protect me, to keep me safe at all costs; and he would do everything in his power to do that. He'd already promised Renee that he would maintain regular contact with her and keep her up-to-date on everything about me, as well as any news he comes across about James.

At 4:10 I hurriedly made my way back to my departure gate. I arrived just in time to hear the boarding call so I fell in line with the other passengers and boarded the plane. Once onboard I dug my iPod, my sudoku book and an ink pen out of my bag before stowing it in the overhead compartment.

I settled into my seat and sighed deeply mentally preparing myself for the next leg of my journey. I clipped the pen onto the puzzle book and tucked the book under my leg. I wasn't interested in puzzles any more, and even if I had been I wouldn't be able to work in the book until we'd reached our cruising altitude. I leaned my head back and tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. I was exhausted, but I still had a long way to go before I could even pretend to feel safe enough to really rest.

* * *

**A/N:** As always thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**SM owns all things Twilight  
****  


* * *

**  
**Prey For Protection**

"I'm afraid I can't explain myself, sir. Because I'm not myself, you know."

**-Alice (Alice in Wonderland)**

Chapter Three:

Forty-five minutes into the flight, a dark-haired flight attendant came by with her cart of refreshments. I gratefully accepted a coke, in the hopes that the caffeine would help me get through the rest of the day. I popped the top on the can, and took a long sip. As she pushed her cart further down the aisle I took note of the gentleman in the seat next to me. He was dressed in beige slacks and a short-sleeve light blue button down shirt; and he looked to be in his mid to late sixties. Any thoughts I may have had about engaging him in conversation to help pass the time were immediately dashed, as I saw his head loll to the side; he was asleep.

I returned my attention to the small window to my right, but the low-lying clouds prevented me from watching the miniscule countryside below us pass by. Discouraged, I put my headphones on and hit shuffle on my iPod. I scooted down lower in my seat in an effort to get comfortable, and closed my eyes. It wasn't long before I found myself setting adrift in my memories…

XxXx

When I woke up the morning of Christmas Eve I felt like I was slowly emerging from a thick fog. I didn't remember going to bed; in fact I couldn't remember anything about the previous evening. I lay there for several minutes trying to clear my head; before finally crawling out from under my down comforter and into the shower.

After getting clean, I stood under the hot jets, reveling in the feeling of my tense muscles loosening and relaxing. I have no idea how long I stayed there; but I waited until the water started running cool before finally turning it off and stepping out into the steam-filled room. I dried off and wrapped a towel around myself just as Renee rapped on the bathroom door to alert me that brunch was ready.

I hurried into my bedroom to get dressed before joining Phil and Renee at the table. I pulled on my favorite blue jeans and an old, baggy, Arizona State sweatshirt that I'd swiped from Phil. After pulling my hair up into a ponytail I made my way to the dining room.

Renee and Phil were already at the table when I arrived in the dining room. I couldn't decide if they looked adorable in a dork-ish sort of way, or dorky in an adorable sort of way in their matching red and green Rudolph the red nosed reindeer sweaters. They were Christmas gifts from Phil's mother. I bit down on the inside of my jaw in an effort to resist laughing at them. Phil looked up with a look that screamed 'Don't say a word'; it was almost more than I could handle.

Christmas Eve brunch was a holiday tradition at our house. It wasn't anything fancy, and it was just the three of us. Every year Renee made her ham, egg, and cheese casserole, that unlike most of her concoctions in the kitchen, wasn't just edible, it was **really** good. We'd all sit down together, just enjoying each other's company, laughing, talking and eating.

I grabbed a mug from the cabinet and helped myself to a cup of hot, steamy coffee and settled down at the dining room table to eat. Renee was jabbering away about New Years parties and Phil's travel plans for after the holidays. I tried to focus on the conversation taking place around me but my mind kept wandering.

My lack of memory regarding the previous night left me feeling ill at ease. The more I strained to remember the more frustrated I became. I remembered Renee and Phil leaving for their party, and I remembered eating dinner by myself; but I kept drawing blanks after that.

James' beautiful face flashed behind my lids every time I blinked. _I must have dreamed about him last night_, I rationed. Although I didn't actually recall dreaming about him and I was usually pretty good at remembering my dreams…

"Isabella!" I cringed when Renee's obviously, annoyed voice interrupted my reverie.

"Huh?" I started, "Oh. Sorry mom, I uh…. I guess I spaced out there for a minute. What did you say?"

Renee shook her head and sighed deeply. "What are we gonna do with you Bella?" she breathed. "I asked if you had any plans for today. Phil and I are going to go visit his sister Lois for a couple hours this evening. Her husband, Randall, is stuck in LA on business so she's flying out to meet him first thing tomorrow morning."

"Oh. No, not really. I thought I might call Tiffany and see when she wants to exchange gifts. So I guess I might go visit her," I shrugged.

"Well, don't be out too late, we'll be home around 9 o'clock and I was hoping we could go look at the lights and maybe listen to the carolers for awhile tonight."

Another of our holiday traditions, Renee and I always went for a drive on Christmas Eve to look at all the beautifully decorated houses. We'd then head downtown to see the lights and the enormous Christmas tree that the city always decorated. Unless the temperatures dropped to the extreme, you could always find carolers gathered around the tree singing Christmas carols until close to midnight.

I nodded absent-mindedly as I shoveled the last of my eggs into my mouth before getting up to wash my plate. I drained my coffee cup and washed it as well, putting the dishes in the rack to dry before heading back to my room to call Tiffany.

I plopped onto my bed and reached for the cordless phone on my nightstand. Next to the telephone was a piece of red parchment paper folded I half. It wasn't anything I'd left there, so I reached for it instead of the telephone. I carefully unfolded the heavy paper and immediately recognized James' handwriting.

'_If I offered you forever_

_I wonder what you'd say,_

_Would you fall into my arms?_

_Or would you turn & walk away?_

_I never meant to hurt you_

_And soon you'll understand,_

_When I offer you forever_

_You & Me – the way we planned.'_

I knew for a fact that the paper hadn't been there before. I'm a neat freak by nature, so it wasn't like it could've been overlooked amongst the clutter. There was only one possible explanation… He'd been here. In my room… There was no signature, but there was no doubt in my mind that James had written it. But then… when? How? I lay on the bed reading and rereading the poem, and forgot all about calling my friend. I knew I was missing something; but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. Then there was the poem itself… What did it mean?

Renee peeked her head in my room to remind me to call Tiffany, and I almost told her about the poem. "Hey mom, " I began with an unexplainable sense of trepidation.

She arched her brow and looked at me expectantly.

I chickened out. "I uh… I was just wondering if I could invite Tiff over here to swap gifts? Maybe she could go look at the lights with us tonight?" I asked instead, surprising myself at how easily it slipped off my tongue. I am **not** a good liar.

"Sure sweetie, I think that'd be great," she beamed before ducking back out. "Come help me in the kitchen when you're done," she called from the hallway.

I called Tiffany and she agreed to come over around 7:30 that evening. We chatted for a while before she had to hang up so she could go with her mother to help out at the community soup kitchen, an annual charitable act her mother insisted on including her in. She groaned and I laughed as we said our goodbyes.

I returned my attention to the poem, and read it one last time before folding it back up and sticking it in the drawer of my nightstand and joining Renee in the kitchen in preparation for the following night's feast. We made apple pies, pumpkin pies, chocolate cream pies and tore up bread for stuffing.

By the time we finished in the kitchen it was time for Renee to get ready for their evening at Phil's sister's house. She reminded me about all the dinner options available to me before running off to jump in the shower. A few minutes after 5 o'clock she reappeared looking refreshed and absolutely beautiful in he red sequined sweater and black pencil skirt. She had her hair swept up and held in place with red rhinestone combs, with small wisps left loose to frame her face. I couldn't hold back my grin when I saw her girlish blush when Phil quietly told her how beautiful he thought she looked. They were the epitome of the happy couple.

Moments later they were out the door; and I was once again, alone in the quiet house. After throwing together a sandwich and grabbing a bottle of water, I shuffled off to my bedroom and pulled James' poem back out. As I ate I read and reread the short poem over and over again. Once I finished my sandwich I lay back against my pillows and closed my eyes. I tried to focus all of my efforts into remembering my dream from the night before, if in fact it was a dream.

I could see his face in my mind's eye, and I could almost hear his voice, but it was so faint. They weren't right, not the face, the voice; and this realization only served to further convince me that there was something amiss.

The only thing I'd accomplished after several more minutes of concentrating was becoming increasingly frustrated and developing the first inklings of a headache. I sighed in resignation and turned onto my side. I pulled my soft, white comforter up around my shoulders, and it wasn't long before I was asleep.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

"I still don't understand why you're toying with her. If you want her take her, make her yours and be done with it. You tempt fate every time you come here." The voice was female, agitated, vaguely familiar and sounded like it was coming from far away.

There was a deep sigh, and then I heard _him_ speak. "I told you. The easiest way, the safest way is to get her to come willingly. I can do that. We can't fucking move her during the burning and we can't very well stay here for another three days."

"Perhaps you should've timed your little revenge a little better hmmm?"

"Ideally, perhaps," James acknowledged gruffly, "but in all this time that was the first opportunity I've had. I HAD to take it. Who knows how long I would've had to wait for another chance Fucking bastard!"

The female chuckled, "Was a shame about his wife though," she sounded smug in spite of her words, "I could've sworn he'd been alone."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" James growled. "Get outta my sight, go tell the others we'll be leaving tomorrow. I'll be by before sunrise, and Isabella will join us by dusk."

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

The ringing of the telephone brought me from my slumber. The conversation I'd heard, (in my dream?) was still fresh in my head as I reached out blindly for the handset.

"Hello?" I grumbled into the phone.

"Bella? Were you sleeping?"

"Uh, Yeah… I guess so. Sorry. What's up Tiff?" I asked sitting up and grinding my fist into my eyes in an effort to rub the sleep out.

"Just wanted to let you know that I was on my way," she responded cheerfully.

"Great. I'll see ya when you get here." We said our goodbyes as I stepped into the bathroom to wash my face in the hopes of further waking myself up.

As soon as I hung up the phone, there was a knock at the front door. I hurried to the door, knowing there was no way that it could be Tiffany already.

I opened the door and gasped. Standing there, leaning against the doorframe, smiling casually and looking almost inhumanly beautiful, in faded blue jeans, an old Floyd t-shirt, and jean jacket, was James. As soon as I saw him the events from the previous night assaulted me. He **had** been here…

"James?" was all I could force from my lips.

He straightened up and his smile widened as he extended his arms to me as though he expected me to throw myself into them. I can't deny that for a second, a small part of me wanted to do just that; but it was only a small part, and therefore resistance took minimal effort on my part.

I took a step backwards instead, and seeing this, James' smile faltered and he dropped his arms to his sides dejectedly as he stepped into the house.

"Izz…" He started, but I cut him off.

"Where've you been? Why were you gone so long? Why didn't you call me?" I demanded angrily.

He chuckled, "you know you're fuckin' adorable when you're pissed off." When I didn't return his grin he became more serious. "Look can we sit down for a few minutes and talk Izz? Please?"

I nodded dumbly and lead the way to the living room. I sat down in Phil's recliner in an effort to keep some distance between us. I felt a little more control of my faculties that way. He gently perched on the edge of the couch closest to me.

"Well?" I persisted when he didn't speak right away.

"Izzy." He sighed, and I knew he was struggling with his words. "It's… It's all really complicated. I really shouldn't even be here now, but we're leaving tomorrow, and I… I want you to come with us Izz. I want you to be one of us."

"What the hell are you talking about? Who's leaving? I've been to your house James; and it looked to me like you were already gone. You can't drop off the face of the earth and then just show up here without a damn good explanation. I mean do you really think I'm gonna just go off with you without knowing where you've been or where we're supposed to be going?" I could feel the traitorous tears stinging my eyes, but I refused to let a single one fall. I was angry and hurt and more than a little confused; and I wanted answers damn it, not to turn into a blubbering baby.

"Izz-" he started again, but I didn't give him a chance.

"And what do you mean you want me to be 'one of you?'" I finger quoted. "You're nuts if you think I'm joining the little cult you ran around with. Wearing those stupid contact lenses and scaring people… What's up with that anyway? They all act like they think they're better than everybody else," I continued in disgust.

At that point, James started chuckling. At first it was just a quiet chuckle, but as he continued it built until he was laughing so far he was practically doubled over on the couch.

There was a knock at the door then, and he froze immediately. I stood up and looked from him to the door undecidedly. There wasn't a trace of humor left in his eyes when he rose and stared deep into my eyes. I felt an unexplainable urge to run away from him, but my feet were frozen in their spot.

"Isabella," he started, his voice still sounded musical, but there was a hardness to it that I wasn't accustomed to. "We leave tomorrow, just after twilight. I will not leave without you. I know you're angry and if I had the option to wait for you to get over it I would, but I don't. One way or the other you're coming with us. Deep down you still love me and we both know it. You **can't** fight destiny Izzy, the only thing I did was redefine forever."

The knock at the front door sounded again and he moved toward the back of the house, appearing intent on leaving through the back door. "I'd like to think you'd come of your own accord," he called back; "meet us at the skating rink on 4th. Otherwise I'll come pick you up myself. Oh, and Izz, Merry Christmas."

And he was gone.

I stood there, rooted for another minute, staring after him.

Had he really just threatened me?

The third time I heard the knock on the front door it was accompanied by Tiffany's concerned voice. "Bella! I'm gonna count to ten and then I'm gonna let myself in! Come on Bella," *KNOCK * KNOCK * KNOCK* "you're scaring me I know you're in there! OK! 1… 2… 3…"

I shook my head emphatically in an effort to clear it and rushed to the front door. I swung it open as she was saying "7…"

"Hey Tiff," I offered breathlessly, "sorry about that."

She walked into the house but paused just inside, a strange expression on her face. "Bella? What's the matter? You look like you've just seen a ghost!" The concern in her voice was apparent, and I tried to mask the multitude of emotions that were raging through me at that moment.

"Bella?" She pressed when I didn't offer an answer.

"James was here," was all I could say.

She gasped, "like just now?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah, like he just walked out the back door."

"Wha- what'd he want Bella? I mean… are you ok? He didn't hurt you or anything did he?" She had never been a fan of James'. She'd reached out to me in friendship several times and saw him as the reason we hadn't become friends sooner. She didn't trust him at all.

"Of course I'm ok, he didn't hurt me Tiffany." I admonished. "He… he wants me to go away with him. He said he's leaving tomorrow, for some reason he can't wait any longer and he wants me to go with him."

"Did he say why he can't wait Bella?" she asked quietly.

"No he really didn't explain anything to me at all. He said he couldn't have come to me earlier, that he shouldn't have come now. He didn't explain that either." I sighed in frustration. "Come on," I said desperate to change the subject before she had a chance to ask more questions that I didn't have answers to. "Your present is under the tree."

We exchanged gifts and I tried to feign enthusiasm. I gave her a t-shirt I'd spied her eyeballing at the mall and a new journal. She gave me a Vera Bradley case for the laptop Phil and Renee got me for my birthday. There was a palpable tension in the air between us that neither of us was used to.

Tiffany took her gifts to her car and was gone for several minutes. When she came back she was carrying a newspaper, and she looked ill.

"Hey," I called to her, "what's wrong Tiff?" I asked.

"Bella, I don't know what it means, or even if it means anything at all, but…" she trailed off.

"What?" I asked.

She silently spread the newspaper open. I couldn't contain the shudder that ran through my body or the gasp that escaped my lips as I read the article she pointed out.

Local Couple Falls Victim to Savage Animal Attack

_Two bodies, identified as 42-year-old Calvin Hodge, and his wife, 36-year-old Sophia Hodge, were discovered last night in Acacia Park. Both, apparent victims of a savage animal attack. Police were unwilling to comment to the type of animal responsible but have advised that citizens exercise caution in going outdoors at night until they are able to capture the animal or until they can ensure that it has moved on._

There was more, but I couldn't read it. My head was spinning. James' parents were dead? Cal? Sophie? They were gone? I could hear his voice in my head. "…_that was the first opportunity I've had. I HAD to take it. Who knows how long I would've had to wait for another chance. Fucking bastard!" _

James?

No!

He wouldn't!

He… he couldn't!

But on some level, I knew the truth.

He would. He could. And he did.

Suddenly, I couldn't breathe and the room was spinning. I felt myself falling into the darkness, and I embraced it.

* * *

**A/N:** As always, thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**SM owns all things Twilight  
****  


* * *

**  
**  
Prey For Protection  
**

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."

**~Sigmund Freud**

Chapter Four:

For the second time that day it was the sensation of the plane touching down that brought me back from my thoughts. We were arriving at SEA-TAC airport, symbolizing the end of my journey by air. My entire body was stiff and sore, and my arms felt like lead when I reached overhead for my carry on. Bag in hand I slowly made my way off the plane and into the terminal.

Charlie was waiting for me at baggage claim just like we'd arranged. He had dark circles under his usually warm brown eyes; and they were puffy from an obvious lack of sleep. In fact, he looked down right exhausted; but on seeing me he forced a smile as he wrapped me in a warm embrace. He'd traded his uniform for a pair of dark jeans and a gray cotton t-shirt; both looked rumpled, as if he'd slept in them.

"Everything been ok so far? No trouble? No sign of anybody following you?" He asked.

I forced my own smile and nodded, as we pulled apart. "So far so good, everything's gone exactly like you said it would dad." I answered, trying to sound as reassuring as I could. "I don't think he'll really try to follow me," I added softly, we both knew that was a lie. "But with the non-direct route you booked me on you probably should've got some more sleep and let me fly into Port Angeles instead of driving all the way to Seattle."

He huffed noisily and mumbled something incoherent under his breath and wordlessly set about helping me collect my luggage. Thirty minutes later, all of my bags were safely stowed in the trunk of Charlie's police cruiser; and we were pulling out of the short term parking garage. I sent Renee and Tiffany each a text message as Charlie merged onto the highway on our way to Forks.

We drove in silence for a while. I was trying to study Charlie's profile out of the corner of my eye. Every few minutes he'd grimace or shake his head. He'd aged considerably since I'd seen him last, two summers ago. I felt a pang of guilt as I realized that worrying over me had probably caused a great deal of it.

He cleared his throat and threw me a quick glance, "So Bells," he started uneasily, "have you uh, seen or heard from him at all this week?"

I told him as briefly as possible about the note we'd found on Renee's car at the mall.

I watched as anger flashed across his face, which wasn't something I was accustomed to seeing on Charlie. He was laid back, gentle, upstanding and honest. He was a small town sheriff. A genuine Good ole boy. He was also fiercely protective of the things that mattered to him; it was what made him such a good cop. I realized at that very moment that it was also what made him such a good father.

"Did you bring them with you? The letters and all?" he asked.

"Yeah they're in one of my suitcases." I didn't really understand why he wanted them, but he'd been adamant about my bringing them with me.

We chatted off and on about nothing of any significance, neither of us really wanting to discuss James yet. Soon we settled into a weary yet comfortable silence.

We stopped near Bremerton and had dinner at a portside diner. Charlie excused himself to make a couple of phone calls while we waited on our food. He stepped outside, but stayed right in front of the diner, never letting me out of his sight. I had the distinct impression that he was more anxious than he was letting on.

I watched him as he spoke animatedly on his cell phone. I had an inexplicable feeling that whoever he was talking to, he was talking about me. I watched him close his phone and them immediately dial another number. The second call was much shorter and after shoving the phone into the pocket of his jeans he came back inside. He was making his way back to the table as the waitress brought our plates.

"Everything ok?" I asked as he slid back into his seat.

"Huh? Oh the phone calls… Yeah, yeah everything's fine Bells." He grabbed his burger with both hands and gave me what I'm sure was supposed to be a reassuring smile before aggressively digging in and ending any possibility of further conversation.

I picked over my salad barely eating half of it. My stomach had been in knots for months, and my appetite was practically nonexistent. Renee had fussed at me incessantly about not eating. She had me taking a ton of vitamins in an effort to compensate for my lack of interest in food. I'd gone down a whole pant size since this crazy mess started, the bad part was that I didn't really have any weight to lose. Even I had to admit that my face was gaunt, my ribs were obvious, my hipbones jutted out and my arms and legs looked like sticks. I resolved to make an effort to eat more regularly.

Charlie paid the tab and we settled back into the cruiser. Charlie seemed like he was miles away, so I passed the time wondering what my friends and family in Phoenix were doing. We were each lost in our own thoughts, and we drove the rest of the way to Forks in silence.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

As we turned onto Charlie's street I couldn't help but notice just how little things had changed. As a child I was here two weeks every summer up until I was twelve. At twelve I put my foot down (repeatedly and with more than a few tears, screams, and pleas for mercy) I loved Charlie, but I hated fishing, I hated rain, and I **HATED** Forks. So Charlie and I started spending a week in California together during the summers.

We pulled into the driveway of his house which, like everything else in I'd seen so far, looked almost exactly the same as I'd remembered it. The white siding was weathered and worn. The rose bushes Renee had planted more than a decade ago grew wild, some of their branches tangling amongst the slats of the front porch. I glanced into the forest that surrounded the house on three sides; it had seemed incredibly scary as a child. Absolutely everything around us seemed to be covered in green.

We unloaded my luggage and Charlie helped me carry it into the house. I immediately followed him through the living room and up the narrow staircase, praying to stay upright as I struggled with two suitcases as well as my innate clumsiness. He pointed out the only bathroom at the top of the stairs before stepping past the door to my old bedroom gesturing for me to go on ahead.

Once inside I dropped the two suitcases I was carrying and looked around my old room. The walls were the same light yellow they'd always been; and the sun-faded gold colored curtains that hung in the windows had been there since before I was born. They were worn so thin they didn't seem to block out any light at all. The right wall held a long bookshelf filled with art supplies and a variety of books that ranged from Mother Goose to Nancy Drew. Against the far wall was my old twin-sized bed; and lying atop it was the old quilt that Grandma Swan hand made for me when I was two years old. I approached the bed and gently brushed my fingers across the quilt, absently tracing the patterns.

The left wall housed the only new addition to the bedroom, a large, sturdy looking oak desk and a rolling chair. They both appeared to be second hand, but I was touched that he was obviously making an effort to make the most of our situation, and to make me comfortable.

Charlie set the rest of my luggage down in front of the closet and watched me look around the room. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, he cleared his throat. "Well, I uh, I guess I'll give you a chance to get settled. If you need anything just ya know… let me know. Ok?"

"Sure," I said.

He nodded and walked to the door. "Ok," he replied. He looked torn, like there was something else he wanted to say but for some reason thought better of it. Finally he said, "Well, I think we've both had a pretty long day. I'm gonna go downstairs and catch the news and then I'm gonna call it a night." He walked back to my side and gave me a brief one-armed hug before adding, "I'm glad you're here Bells. Really. And I uh… I want you to know, I promised your mom and I promise you, you'll be safe here. I won't let anything happen to you." He shuffled his feet uncomfortably; Charlie wasn't one for speeches or emotional outpourings. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of my head and half mumbled, "I'll uh… I'll see you ya in the morning kiddo," before escaping downstairs to his flat screen and his recliner gently closing the door behind him.

When I heard him moving down the stairs, I threw myself onto the bed with a heavy sigh. I'd made it to Forks. I realized for the first time that a part of me hadn't actually expected to make it out of Phoenix. I had to admit that lying in my old bedroom, on top of my old quilt, I felt safer than I'd permitted myself to feel in a long time. Charlie's words resounded in my head, _'I promise you; you'll be safe here. I won't let anything happen to you.'_ His words seemed to caress and soothe my frazzled nerves.

I didn't feel like James was waiting to jump out of my closet, or watching through my window. He was almost 1600 miles away, and he had absolutely no clue where I was. There was a chance he hadn't even realized that I'd left yet. Charlie was the chief of police, a bona fide crime fighter, that's just a couple notches down from super hero isn't it? Surely I'd be safe with him. I felt the inklings of a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, as I stood from the bed and busied myself unpacking and settling into my new, old room. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself to hope.

By the time I finished unpacking it was after midnight. I heard Charlie snoring in the living room as I tiptoed out of my room and into the bathroom. I showered, brushed my teeth, and slipped into my favorite pajamas, brown cotton pants and brown and white striped tank top. I quietly snuck down the stairs and turned off the television. Charlie was still snoring from his beige la-z-boy, and as tired as he looked earlier I didn't have the heart to disturb him. I grabbed the bright orange afghan from the back of the couch and carefully draped it over his sleeping form.

I switched off the lamp and headed back up the stairs. I caught myself on the handrail when I tripped over the next to the last step and froze with bated breath hoping I hadn't disturbed Charlie. I heard him snore again a moment later and quickly made my way back into my room.

I turned off my light and climbed into bed pulling my quilt snugly up around my shoulders. I nestled into the mattress and felt my eyes grow heavy immediately. As I lay there on the verge of sleep I thought, '_maybe now the nightmares will stop. Now that I'm safe…'_

Then again… Maybe not…

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

I KNEW I was dreaming. I was walking through the forest, just leisurely strolling amidst the trees and humming to myself, when I noticed something up ahead. There was a piece of red paper fluttering in the breeze where it was hanging on the trunk of one of the trees up ahead. I walked toward the tree and recognized the thick red paper and the handwriting immediately. James. The message was simple.

I'll find you.

I turned but saw another red piece of paper on the next tree. I wanted to turn and run but I was pulled to investigate. This sheet bore the same script and a similar message.

You can't hide forever.

As I made to run away I realized that there were similar messages hanging from each and every tree that I could see. My breath was coming in short gasps and tears were burning my eyes as I ran blindly through the forest. I felt my foot catch on something and threw my hands out in a desperate attempt to catch myself as I tumbled.

I wiped at the tears with my back of my hand and tried to calm my breathing as I realized I was lost in the forest. I pulled myself back onto my feet and spun slowly in place, looking for some clue as to which direction I'd come from.

There was a snap, like a tree branch breaking, and then I heard his voice.

"Is-a-bel-la…" he laughed, and the sound of it chilled me to the bone.

I turned and took a tentative step, but I couldn't tell which direction his voice was coming from. I certainly didn't want to run **to** him.

"Where do you think you're going? Hmmm Is-a-bel-la?"

I heard a rustling behind me and I didn't wait to see what it was. I just ran. I ran like I'd never ran before and I prayed that momentum would overrule gravity and keep me moving forward instead of falling down.

I could hear him behind me. I didn't dare look out for fear that he was right behind me. He kept laughing and taunting me by chanting my name "Is-a-bel-la," followed by another fit of his dark maniacal laughter. He was getting closer. I felt the air at my neck where he tried to grab at me. I pushed myself harder, trying to dig into the damp earth with my bare feet in order to get better traction.

There was a break in the trees ahead. My legs and lungs were on fire and my bare feet felt like they were riddled with cuts as I pressed on hoping against hope that through those trees I'd find my salvation. Just as I got to the trees I felt his cold grip on my shoulder and I screamed. I screamed and kicked and clawed with everything I had.

He started shaking me, and the more he touched me the warmer his hands got, as if he were absorbing my body heat. His laughter faded and he gently slapped my face. "Bella!" he said, but it wasn't his voice, it was Charlie's. Charlie was calling for me!

"Come on Bells, wake up. Wake up honey, it's just a dream. You're safe Bells."

I opened my eyes and was momentarily surprised to be back in bed, and even more so to find myself staring into Charlie's concerned gaze. He was sitting on the edge of my bed and he smiled softly down at me when he realized I was awake.

"Hey there," he said soothingly, "you ok?"

"Yeah, just a, just a bad dream." My heart was still racing but I had managed to regulate my breathing. I realized there was sunlight shining through the curtains. "What time is it?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

Charlie straightened up and chuckled. "It's a few minutes after ten. I was just coming up to see if you wanted some breakfast when I heard you yellin'. If you're sure you're all right the offer still stands. How does scrambled eggs and toast sound?"

"Sounds great." I answered, hoping my stomach would accept the food so soon after being wrapped in knots again.

"Good, cause to be honest, that's about all I can cook," he admitted good-naturedly. "See ya downstairs in fifteen minutes?"

"Sure," I offered with what I hoped would pass for a genuine smile.

He nodded and left to take care of breakfast as I climbed out of bed and started getting ready for my first day in Forks. I changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a white cotton tank top with lace eyelets down the front and stopped off in the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth before joining Charlie in the kitchen.

Charlie's kitchen was just like the rest of the house, unchanged. The off white tile on the floor was discolored with age. Renee had painted the cabinets yellow back when she lived here in an effort to brighten up the room. It actually made the kitchen a little more special to me, like the memory of Renee's presence was stronger in this room.

Over breakfast Charlie kept up a light-hearted stream of conversation. He talked a bit about Forks High School, where I'd be attending classes once the school year started in three weeks. He mentioned old friends to see if I remembered any of them, and he told stories about his fishing trips. Once we'd finished eating I collected our plates and washed up the dinner dishes. When I finished and realized he was still sitting at the table I sat back down opposite him.

"Bells, I know you don't especially wanna talk about this whole James mess. It's, well hell it's not one of my favorite subjects either, but I think we should go over everything as soon as possible and get it out of the way. You ok with that?" His eyes met mine questioningly.

I sighed. "Ok…"

He cleared his throat and rose from his seat to start pacing across the kitchen floor. "Well, I was hoping we could maybe have a little meeting. I figure that way you only have to go over it once. I can have Stan from the station come by and I'd like Billy here too."

"Um… Who's Stan? And who's Billy? And why do you want me to tell them about all this?"

"Well," he started, settling back into his seat at the table. "Stan, Stan Hawthorne, he's deputy sheriff and a good friend. He already knows that there's a psycho been harassing you and he's asked to help in anyway possible. I trust him completely; and you can too. And Billy. You remember Billy Black? Almost always went fishin' with us when you used to visit?"

I nodded as an image of a dark-haired Native American man with a quick smile and kind eyes came to mind. He and Charlie had been friends since they were boys. He had two daughters, both older than me and every bit as shy as I'd been; and a son that was younger than the rest of us.

"Well," Charlie went on, "of course Billy says he's got a personal interest in this as much as I do. He wants to help. He mentioned maybe sending a couple of his boys to Forks High this year to help keep an eye on ya. I was kind of thinkin' about home school myself, at least for a while…"

"Dad NO!" I cut in. I hadn't come all this way to stay holed up in hiding every day. "You said-"

"I know. I know Bells. It was just a thought; maybe for the first couple months… make sure there wasn't any trouble. Anyway, Billy told me there was no way you'd go for it," he grinned. "So he thought he'd have a couple of his boys transfer just as a precaution to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. They're familiar with the folks around here, they'd notice an outsider whereas you wouldn't ya know?"

He was looking at me in earnest and I couldn't help but feel like he was silently urging me to agree. "I told you that you'll be safe here Bells, and I meant that; but we still have to keep our guard up. I don't want you to be afraid, but I also need you to be aware. There's no doubt in my mind that this James is on crazy son of a bit… err gun, means just to be safe we gotta expect the unexpected. Fortunately the crazies tend to get bored fast or get messy or lazy and they get themselves caught. When that happens we'll throw caution to the wind, but until then Bells, I'd appreciate it if you could promise not to hide ANYTHING from me and to do everything I tell you to do when and how I tell you to do it. Can you do that for Bells? Can I count on you? Can I trust you?"

I knew he'd been going out of his mind with worry until I'd arrived here. He deserved nothing less than 100% of my faith and cooperation. I even had to admit that he had a point about my inability to spot 'an outsider' at school, but then again I knew what James and his friends looked like, and they were the only ones I had to worry about. I searched his eyes for some sign of what he obviously wasn't telling me, but all I saw was fatigue, love and concern.

I agreed with a nod and said, "Of course you can dad." Then in an effort to convey my decision to submit to his over-protectiveness I asked, "So when this meeting?"

He smiled gratefully and said, "Let me make s couple calls. I need you to go get all that stuff he gave you, whatever you brought. I'm pretty sure I can get'em here today."

He pulled out his cell phone and started dialing as I went up to my room to get the shoebox that held the messages that I'd received from James over the course of the last year. I walked to the closet and grabbed the shoebox from it's out of sight out of mind perch on the floor in the back corner of the closet. Underneath it was the black leather journal that I'd religiously kept since freshman year when James gave it to me as a birthday gift.

I was still sitting on the floor in the closet when I heard Charlie call up the stairs, "Don't take too long up there Bells, they're on their way!"

I took a deep breath and prayed for the strength to get through Charlie's meeting. All I had to do was go over it all one more time, and then I could move on and start my new life here in Forks. I'd go to school and try to make some new friends and finally settle into a normal life. _I can do this_, I told myself as I rose from my spot on the floor to join Charlie in the kitchen. _I can do this.  


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**A/N:** As always, thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**SM owns all things Twilight  
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Prey For Protection  
**

Chapter Five:

_I can't do this! I absolutely positively __**cannot**__ do this!!! _To say I was freaking out might've been a slight understatement. I **thought** I could hold it together; at least long enough to sit down, at the kitchen table, and rehash the past year with Charlie and his friends. I'd all but convinced myself that there was nothing to it; but when I moved to step out of my bedroom with my journal and the shoebox full of things I'd rather forget, I lost it.

_Who was I kidding?_ I cried every time I read over one of James' notes or poems. How was I supposed to share all of that with total strangers? That box, had come to represent the fear that James had brought into my life. I suddenly wished I hadn't saved the notes. _Why would I even want to save something like that anyway?_ I wondered. _What kind of masochist am I?_

I was suddenly angry with Charlie for arranging this whole stupid meeting of his in the first place. _Why would he subject me to this? How could he __**possibly**__ see it as a good idea?_ As though it weren't enough to make me relive it all, to admit just how afraid I'd been, he had to make me do it in front of people I didn't know?

I was frantically pacing back and forth across the hard wood floor of my bedroom, the box and journal lying in the middle of my bed. I'd just worked up the courage to go downstairs and demand that Charlie call his friends back and tell them not to come; when I heard the sound of a car pulling up out front. _Shit! Perfect Timing, Bella._ I rolled my eyes and sighed at myself in disgust, too late to cancel now. I peeked out my bedroom window; and saw the tail end of a police cruiser parked at the curb. At that same moment, I heard a knock at the front door.

Charlie answered the door, and I heard the deep mutterings of two men talking in the living room. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath, desperately trying to calm my nerves. I gathered my things from my bed and strode purposefully out of the room. At the top of the stairs I paused for one last deep breath, squared my shoulders, and started down the stairs.

Charlie must've heard me coming; he was waiting at the bottom to introduce me to the man that had arrived.

"Bells, this is Deputy Stan Hawthorne from down at the station. He's a real good friend of mine. He wants to help make sure you're safe here." He turned to Deputy Hawthorne and continued, "Stan, this is my daughter Isabella. She just got in last night, so I don't wanna push her **too** hard today. We just need to make sure we're all aware of what we're dealing with here."

"Of course," the deputy responded. "It sure is good to meet you, Isabella," he said, turning his attention to me. He had light brown collar length hair that hung loose around his face, soft hazel eyes and a warm smile. He was younger, I'd guess him to be in his mid-twenties, and a little taller than Charlie, with a slightly more muscular build "You're dad has told me a lot about you."

I nodded and offered him a weak smile in return. There was a genuineness about him that helped me feel a little more at ease. I followed Charlie and Stan into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Charlie quickly strolled over to the fridge, retrieving a couple beers; he offered one to Stan and took a long pull from his own, as he practically fell into the seat across the small, square, oak table from where I sat.

He and Stan took turns telling me about Forks High School and the 'good group of kids' that went there. Then they moved on to the discouragingly short list of things the local teens did for fun. I knew that they were trying to make me feel more comfortable; but I had a hard time following their conversation. My mind was stuck on the millions of butterflies fluttering around in my stomach, the way my hands were trembling, and the fact that I had no idea what I was actually supposed to say once things were underway.

"Bells, I need your cell phone please," Charlie cut through my thoughts. "We'll run out this evening and get ya a new one."

I nodded and hopped up from my seat, the chair scraping against the floor as it slid back, and rushed up the stairs to grab my cell phone from where I'd left it in my tote bag. As I hit the bottom step, there was another knock at the front door.

"I'll get it," I called into the kitchen at Charlie. I opened the front door to find a vaguely familiar looking older man in a wheel chair. I immediately realized that this **had** to be Billy Black. He looked to be about Charlie's age, with coppery colored skin and long black hair that hung straight down his back. He had smile lines around his mouth, and his eyes were so dark brown, they almost looked black.

"Hey, Billy, right?" I asked as I opened the screen door and stepped back for him to enter.

"Isabella! How are you?" he smiled warmly. He gestured behind him and said, "You remember my son, Jacob?"

"Just Bella, please," I corrected him automatically; suddenly realizing that Billy was, in fact, not alone. Standing directly behind him was a very tall, very broad younger man. I say younger, but I couldn't fathom a guess at his age. He was really tall, and muscular enough to easily pass for twenty; but there was youthfulness in his face and his eyes. He had the same jet-black mane as his father; but Jacob's was longer, and he wore it pulled back into a long ponytail at the nape of his neck.

I smiled up at Jacob, and noticed he had a far-off look in his eye. _Probably thinking about all the places he'd rather be_, I thought. I couldn't blame him; if I could be somewhere else I most certainly would.

I led them into the kitchen where they exchanged greetings with Charlie and Deputy Hawthorne. I slid my phone, across the table, to Charlie. He shoved it in his shirt pocket as he hopped up and quickly grabbed a beer for Billy. As he sat back down the conversation in the room stilled. _Here it comes_, I thought to myself.

Charlie cleared his throat and took the lead. "Alright Bells, let's start at the beginning."

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Jacob

Wow… I mean… She **was** twelve the last time I saw her. She had always been cute, in her own awkward, quiet, sort of way. But… Holy Hell… At first, I didn't think that this was the same girl. The girl that answered the door sure didn't seem shy. She smiled her dazzling smile down on my dad, "Hey, Billy, right?" There was absolutely no denying that it was Isabella once she spoke; she didn't stumble over her words like she used to, but her soft voice chimed familiar.

"Isabella! How are you?" dad asked her.

She mentioned preferring to be called Bella.

She didn't seem to have grown much taller since I'd last seen her. She did however, seem to have, kind of, swollen out in all the right places. Her hair was chestnut brown, and it hung loose and straight around her shoulders, she wore no make-up as far as I could tell – and she really didn't need it. She was a little thing; more than a foot shorter than me, like 5'3ish… **Maybe** 100 pounds soaking wet… Maybe.

She was… gorgeous. She was wearing a dark pair of jeans that hugged her curves; and a white tank top, that was cut just low enough in the front to hint at cleavage. She was barefoot; which to me, made her perfect.

Billy cleared his throat, and I realized that she'd stepped back to let us in the house. I was just standing there, like a dumbass. _Smooth Jake_, I thought to myself. I pushed dad's chair through the door, and she closed it behind us. She was holding a cell phone in her hand and she waved it at us indicating we should follow her as she stepped past us heading toward the kitchen. That had to be the sweetest little…

"Jacob?" Billy spoke up, having caught me staring dumbly after Isabella Swan twice in less than two minutes time. I shook my head in an effort to clear the haze that had settled in it; and pushed my dad through the living room and into Chief Swan's kitchen.

There was only one empty seat at the small, kitchen table; and lucky for me, it was right next to _her_. I pushed dad's chair to the corner of the table, so he'd be sitting next to me; and I sat down in the only remaining chair. Chief Swan was sitting on the other side of my dad and there was another guy, a cop, sitting between the chief and Bella. He was quite a bit younger than the chief, who had introduced him as his deputy, Stan or Dan or somethin'… I wasn't really paying attention to Chief Swan during the introductions.

She slid the shiny, black phone she was holding, across the table to her father, and a sad look crossed her face. She sighed deeply, and bought her hands to rest on top of a shoebox that I hadn't even noticed in front of her. She slid the box closer to her and I realized there was some sort of book underneath the box. When I looked back up at her face, she was chewing on her bottom lip.

I felt myself grinning, as I remembered the countless times I'd seen little Isabella nervously gnawing on her lip. She was a shy, quiet, clumsy girl; she always seemed to be nervous about something. Maybe the nervousness and the clumsiness went hand in hand?

I almost laughed out loud as I thought back to Bella's summers in Forks. She was beyond accident-prone. She tripped over tackle boxes, fell outta fishing boats, hooked herself and several innocent bystanders with fishing hooks. If there was a loose board on a pier Isabella would step on it or fall through it. Huh… No wonder she stopped coming to Forks; I think she always went back to AZ nursing some kind of injury.

Forcefully returning my attention to the now, I looked up, and our eyes met. It was only for a second, but wow… She makes me say that a lot. When I looked into her eyes… They were… Wow… I mean… She had the biggest, most soulful, chocolate brown eyes I've ever seen. There were dark circles under them. She looked like she hadn't slept well in a long time. She looked away almost immediately, and her cheeks flushed a warm pink.

I knew then, that I would have no problem doing what I was expected to do. How could I do anything **but** protect her? Sitting there, in Chief Swan's kitchen, I had to fight the urge to pick her up and hold her in my lap. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, and swear to her, that so long as I lived, no one would **ever** hurt her again; that as long as I was breathing, she would be safe.

I felt drawn to her, in a way I'd never felt drawn to anyone before her. It wasn't the earth shattering experience that went along with imprinting. I knew that from reliving it through the minds of some of my pack brothers; but it was **definitely** _something_.

By the time I realized that she was talking, she stopped. I had no idea what she'd been saying; but she took another deep breath and removed the lid from the plain brown shoebox, and nested the box inside the lid. She bowed her head forward and her soft, brown hair fell forward, creating a curtain that blocked her face from my view; and she slid the box across the table to her dad. _What was in the box?_ I had a feeling I would've known if I'd been paying attention.

Chief Swan and my dad were asking her about the book that she was clutching to her chest. She was biting her bottom lip so hard I half expected to see a trail of blood run down her chin. I looked over at my dad with a look that probably left no doubt as to how lost I was. He shook his head and smirked at me, allowing his eyes to dart from me to Bella and back several times. He knew **exactly** where my mind had been. I was **so** gonna hear about **that** later.

I heard my dad mention her 'going thought it and making a list for them'; at which point I caught up enough to realize that the black leather book that she was holding must've been some kind of diary or something. How could I have been sitting there all along and have absolutely no freaking idea what was going on around me?

Charlie spoke up then, his words directed at his daughter. "Alright. I want a list Bells. You go through and you get me everything you have in there about this guy. Every time you saw him, spoke to him, or received anything from him. I know you're a teenage girl and that he was at one point your boyfriend; but I need details. I need to know everything that was said and done and all that. From the first time you thought something was wrong until you got in my car in Seattle. Can I trust you to be completely forthcoming with me Bells?"

She quickly nodded in acquiescence, and turned an incredible, grateful smile on my dad.

"Alright then. I uh… I hate to push, but I'll need you to get right to work on that Bells. I need it ASAP," his voice had softened considerably. The cop in him seemed to be warring with the dad in him when he looked across the table at his daughter.

I knew he'd missed her like crazy. He used to start talking about her upcoming visit two months before she'd get here; and then he'd go on about how much she'd grown and the things they'd done for two months after she left. He was really upset when she told him she didn't want to come to Forks any more.

She and I had never been close. We'd each been dragged along to several fishing trips and Charlie brought her out to La Push several times each time she visited; but she was so quiet and standoffish. She almost always brought books with her; and preferred hanging back with her dad and reading to going off with my sisters and me. In fact, I doubted that she'd even remember me.

Deputy Dandy cleared his throat, and noisily scooted his chair closer to Bella. I felt a growl start deep inside my chest until Billy reached over and pinched me on the ear in warning. I pulled away from him but made it a point to harness my inner wolf before returning my attention to Bella and Deputy Dipshit.

He had taken something out of a dark brown, soft leather briefcase that sat against the leg of his chair; and was looking down at it as he spoke.

"Your mom sent us a photo of that James fella. She mentioned that it was several years old though, five to be exact; but it seems to be all we could come up with. The kid hasn't had a school picture taken since elementary school; we checked. So anyway, I'm talkin' to a buddy of mine in Seattle, he's on the force over there, and he's really into forensics and new technologies and whatnot. So we're talkin' and somehow this case comes up, and I mention the fact that we don't have so much as a recent picture to go on. He tells me how they can have computers 'age'," he finger quoted, "a picture. Can you believe that shit? What the hell are they gonna think of next?"

This guy reminded me of Barney Fife without the funny. By this point I was pretty sure he had a point, I just wasn't sure if any of us would still be alive by the time he got around to it.

As though he could sense my growing impatience he went on, "Well I sent him the picture and this here's what he sent me back. I figured you'd be the best judge of how good a job they did." He slid the picture in front of Bella, and looked down at her expectantly. "What do ya think? Is that your James?"

Her James?

I cringed, hearing it put that way, and I thought she did too. She picked the picture up and gave a little gasp as she brought her eyes to it. Then she furrowed her brow and started shaking her head. She seemed lost in her own world for a minute; and her cheeks flushed pink when she looked up to find us all watching her expectantly, waiting to hear what she had to say about the picture.

"Well…" she started, tilting her face lower to hide behind her hair, as she laid the picture back down on the table. "Yes, and no?"

What? I glanced around the table and was actually relieved to see that I wasn't the only one confused this time.

"It could very well be a photograph of James; but it's not what he looks like now." She glanced around nervously, and when no one spoke up she started to explain. "When James disappeared, he looked like that," she pointed at the picture on the table in front of her; "but when he showed up again, he… didn't."

"Hmmm… "The deputy pulled a black ink pen out from his shirt pocket, and reached for the picture. He flipped it over and looked back over to Isabella, "I didn't figure it'd work as well as he said it would," he muttered. "Well if this is at least a good start, how bout you tell me what's different and we'll get Jimmy to get started on a sketch for us? I'm surprised it even turned out close to tell ya the truth." He sat there, pen hovering the paper with James' picture printed on the back waiting for her to answer.

I rolled my eyes and looked back over at Bella. She was staring down at the table and chewing on that bottom lip of hers. She looked uncomfortable, like she was struggling with something. She glanced up at each of us and then back down at the table several times. She mumbled, something about thinking she was crazy, before she finally spoke again.

"Well… He… Um… He changed, last summer. I don't know. Like I said, before he went camping, which was when he disappeared, he looked almost exactly like that," again, she pointed toward the now facedown picture, "except his hair was a little longer – just past his collar."

Deputy Dillweed, yeah I was having fun with the nicknames, jotted that down on the back of the picture and waited for her to go on.

She had an almost pained look on her face; brought on, I assumed, by having to remember the prick that had harassed her so much that she had to leave home. I couldn't help but wish he would show up looking for her. I'd love the opportunity to kick his ass; and I didn't even know much of anything about what he'd done, other than scare the hell out of her like some crazed stalker.

"Anyway… When he showed up again he… He looked different. He acted different. He just **was** different. He and his new friends liked to scare people; they all wore these stupid, red contact lenses all the time. It worked to," she chuckled darkly, "they were really scary. Sorry, anyway…" she shook her head once like she was trying to clear it. Her voice was sad, and barely above a whisper, when she added, "I'm… I'm afraid he might be doing drugs now too." She glanced quickly up at her father, and then back to the table in front of her. She cleared her throat, and spoke a little louder as she continued. "He was always tan." The corners of her mouth twitched in to the faintest hint of a smile. "He was like a poster child for the 'Valley of the Sun'," she finger quoted. "When he came back though, he was pale. Really, **really** pale…" She shuddered, and looked up at Deputy Doofus, her brow furrowed, a sad frown on her lips, and a faraway look in her big doe-like eyes; "I know your sketch artist can't exactly draw this; but, when he touched me… every time he touched me… Christmas, or when it was a hundred and eight outside… His skin… It was like ice."

_No fuckin' way!_ I heard my dad's sharp intake of breath and knew we were thinking the same thing.

He'd told me that we were going to have to help Chief Swan's daughter weeks ago. My dad has these 'feelings' sometimes and well… He's not known for bein' wrong. He can't predict the future or even get the winning lotto numbers; but sometimes, when he sees something or hears something he gets a feeling about it. It's usually pretty vague. In this case, dad had gone fishing with the chief and they were talking about his efforts to convince Bella's mom to send Bella to Forks. He had just gotten word that afternoon that Isabella was, in fact, coming to stay with him. Dad came home and told me about it and said that we would need to help them. He didn't know how at that point; he'd said he just 'had a feeling', that we would need to help.

**Now** I understood. As un-fucking-believable as it seemed, Isabella Swan needed more than a couple of big strong Quileute bodyguards; she needed the protection she could only hope to find from a pack of werewolves.

Billy tapped me on the arm, bringing me back from my thoughts, and motioned that we should go. Chief Swan was standing between Isabella and his half literate deputy, flipping the picture back and forth, discussing differences and making notes. We interrupted them long enough to say our goodbyes, dad claiming some forgotten tribal counsel excuse for our sudden departure. He promised to call Charlie as I wheeled him out the front door.

Neither of us spoke as I helped him into the front seat of my beat to shit but beloved VW Rabbit. I stowed his chair behind his seat before climbing in behind the wheel. When I turned onto the two lane highway that would take us back to the reservation; I broke the silence.

"So what do we do?"

He sighed deeply, "I have to talk to the elders first, but I think we should tell him. There is no way he can fully comprehend the danger she is in. There is no way he can understand that you and your brothers are her only hope, unless he knows."

I nodded in agreement and drove the rest of the way to La Push in silence. Both of us were caught up in our own thoughts; thoughts of Charlie Swan, his beautiful daughter Bella, and the bloodsucker that picked the wrong girl to mess with.

10


	6. Chapter 6

**SM owns all things Twilight  
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**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Six:

Wednesday evening, Charlie received a phone call from Billy Black, inviting the two of us out to La Push Friday for a bonfire. Charlie asked if I wanted to go; and having been cooped up inside the house for the past four days, I practically jumped at the invitation.

Thursday, my brand new cell phone rang for the very first time. Charlie was the only one with the number; so, I answered the phone with a presumptuous, "Yeah dad?"

"Hmm… Try again?" responded the playful voice of someone who was most definitely **not** my father.

"Who is this?" I demanded.

"Hey, Bella…" came the voice again, though this time sounding a little more serious. "It's Jacob, Jacob Black."

"Oh, uh… Hi Jacob, what's up?" I asked, noting what sounded like nervousness in his voice. I wondered how he got my number; and I couldn't dream up a single reason for him to be calling me.

"Well, I hope you don't mind me callin'. Your dad gave me your number this morning…"

"Oh GOD!" I groaned, mortified. "**Please** tell me Charlie didn't ask you to baby-sit! I never even leave the house without him!" I ranted. "Look, Jacob, whatever Charlie said…"

"No! Wait, Bella," there was laughter in his voice again. "He didn't ask me anything… Matter of fact, **I** called **him**… and I uh… I asked him for your number. I hope you don't mind. Listen… You two are planning on coming out to the rez Friday right aren't ya? For the bonfire?"

"Um… Yeah?"

"Cool. Well, I thought… Err… I mean, a bunch of us are gonna spend the day at the beach. First Beach… and I thought it'd be fun… if maybe you wanted to come hang with us? I called Charlie first 'cause, well, I'm sure you know how crazy protective he is as far as you're concerned. Anyway, he said it was ok… if you wanted to come?"

After picking my jaw up from where it hand landed on the floor, and feeling the sudden rush of blood flow to my face; I was immediately grateful for my ability to hide behind the shiny, black device in my hand… _Jacob had called Charlie to ask for my number?_ When he was here, he didn't talk much at all, and definitely not to me. He'd seemed completely aloof as far as I could tell. I'd assumed his only reason for coming at all had been to provide chauffer services for his disabled father. So, to say that I was surprised by his invitation was putting it mildly.

"Bella?" He pressed when I hadn't responded in over a minute.

"Huh? Oh yeah… Sorry. I uh…" I was dying to get out of Charlie's house and it's ever-shrinking walls; but I didn't know Jacob or any of his friends. Still… If Charlie had said it was ok, knowing **exactly** how 'crazy protective' he was, to borrow Jacob's phrase, then I was sure it would be. Besides, it would be a very long, lonely summer if I restricted myself to the confines of Charlie's house. I took a deep breath, and forced the words out as quickly as possible before I could chicken out, "I'd love to go." Then, as an afterthought, "as long as you're sure I wouldn't be intruding."

"Naw," he chuckled, "you would **definitely** **not** be intruding. You moving back to Forks is like the most exciting thing that's happened around here in forever. The others would love to meet you."

I felt the blood rush to heat my face again, at his remark. The last thing I wanted was to be the shiny, new plaything. The spotlight and I are natural born enemies; and so I do my best to avoid it if at all possible.

"Kay…" I offered weakly, clueless as to what else to say.

"Kay," he echoed. "So, I'll pick you up tomorrow? Around noon?"

"Yeah… That… That'd be great Jacob." When had I become socially retarded?

"Awesome! I can't wait to tell the guys," he resounded jubilantly.

"Kay… Well I uh… I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" I affirmed, anxious to get off the phone before I managed to make a complete fool of myself.

"Yup. See ya tomorrow. Bye Bella."

"Bye Jacob."

I busied myself taking inventory of Charlie's shabbily stocked kitchen in preparation for the trip to the grocery store he and I were making that evening. He tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to hide his skepticism when I told him I could cook. He was obviously still traumatized from Renee's culinary travesties of days gone by. We'd eaten out every night since I'd arrived. After much complaining on my part, he'd finally conceded to a trip to the market to stock up. I knew he'd change his tune after a couple home cooked meals; but, having endured Renee's cooking myself, I couldn't blame him for being leery.

He got home and insisted on going to Forks Diner to eat before we went to the grocery store. He said it was to avoid 'the pitfall of shopping on an empty stomach'. I knew better; but decided against arguing with him.

Back at Charlie's, we laughed, joked, and made small talk as we put the groceries away.

"Ice cream?" He offered, playfully wiggling his eyebrows, as he pulled the carton from the last plastic bag.

"Sure," I grinned, "I'll get the spoons."

He grabbed two bowls from the cabinet and we sat down at the table to have dessert.

"Did Jake call you today?" he asked offhandedly.

"Yeah he did. He invited me to go to First Beach with him and his friends tomorrow. That ok?" I verified.

"Sure, sure. Jake's a good kid. Matter of fact, he called me this morning to see if I had any objections to him inviting you. Boys don't really do that any more do they?"

I laughed, "No, not usually; but he did mention talking to you first." I laughed a little harder, deciding to keep Jacob's recount of Charlie's protectiveness to myself.

Charlie smiled, "I figured you two would get along. You know, he'll be goin' to Forks High this year," he informed me.

"Really? That's cool. It'll be nice to know, at least, one person the first day."

We finished up our ice cream, and I washed our dishes; as Charlie settled into his recliner, to catch part of the Mariners game. After setting the last bowl in the rack to dry, I bid Charlie a goodnight, and trudged up the stairs. I grabbed a pair of gray sweats and one of Phil's old black t-shirts, from my pajama drawer; and padded down the hall to the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed.

My mind was on overdrive when I crawled into bed and pulled Grandma Swan's quilt up over my shoulders. Thoughts of the upcoming day in La Push soon gave way to memories of Phoenix, Renee, Tiffany, and eventually James. I tossed and turned for hours. The last time I looked, the alarm clock on my nightstand read 1:52; and it seemed like more hours passed before sleep finally claimed me.

When I awoke, at seven thirty Friday morning, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. I tried to go back to sleep, but it was an unusually sunny day for Forks; and those rare, but almost painfully bright, rays of early morning sunshine, were all but impossible to ignore. After ten minutes with my head buried beneath my pillow; I gave up with a disgruntled sigh. I rolled over and fell out of bed. Literally; ass and elbows colliding with the unyielding wooden floor with a thud.

"Not quite the start I was hoping for," I said to my empty room; as I pulled myself up on the edge of the bed, gently rubbing my likely bruised, backside.

I shuffled out of my room, making it a point to take the stairs carefully, clutching the handrail all the way down. Falling down, before I even got out of bed, was definitely not a good omen. I sat down at the kitchen table with a glass of orange juice and a bagel, and prayed that it not be one of those particularly bad, 'Bumbling Bella' days. I could already envision my first day out since moving to Forks ending up in another embarrassing trip to the ER. For the remainder of the morning, I couldn't keep my mind off the millions of ways 'Bumbling Bella' could publicly humiliate herself.

I got my bag ready, and slipped into my bathing suit; it was a bright green two piece, that Renee had talked me into the previous summer. I'd only agreed to it to appease her; at the time I knew I'd never actually wear it. My absolute favorite yellow one-piece suit was the only one I ever wore. It was old and faded and maybe even a little frayed at the shoulder straps, but I loved that suit. At the end of the summer, my beloved suit _mysteriously_ disappeared. Renee said it must've gone to the land of lost socks. When I refused to accept that story, she admitted to throwing it out; but she insisted that she'd seen it as an intervention, not just throwing my favorite bathing suit away. As far as two-piece suits go, it was actually pretty conservative. The bottoms were solid green boy shorts, belted at the hip with a white elastic belt, and a green and white striped halter-top. I moved to examine myself in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of my bedroom door. My arms instinctively moved to cover my bare midriff. I raided Charlie's closet and confiscated a plain, white, cotton t-shirt that, on me, fell to almost mid-thigh. Feeling slightly more at ease in the t-shirt, I grabbed my tote bag and traipsed down the stairs, to read on the couch, until Jacob arrived.

I jumped up when I heard the sound of a car pulling up out front. I quickly stashed my copy of Wuthering Heights into my bag, and met Jacob on the front porch steps.

"Hey Bella," he said, smiling warmly down at me. He really was huge. I had to tilt my head up to meet his gaze, in spite of being two steps above him on the porch.

"Hey Jacob," I responded with a smile of my own.

"You ready for some fun?" He asked, his eyes sparkling.

I couldn't resist laughing. "Fun? People still do that?"

His smiled widened, "Hell yeah they do," he said with a chuckle. "Come on, I'll prove it."

He reached out and gingerly took my hand and I followed him to the old, red, beat up VW Rabbit waiting in the driveway.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Jacob

I couldn't get over how nervous I was on the way Bella's. I've never been the nervous 'type'. When I called to invite her to the beach, it was like my brain turned off when she answered the phone. I stuttered and fumbled over my words like an idiot. Now Embry, he gets all goofy around girls; Quil and I used to tease the hell outta him over it.

I pulled into the chief's driveway and was walking up the porch steps, when Bella opened the front door and stepped out. She had on a t-shirt that looked four or five sizes too big, and you could see through it just well enough to know she had a bathing suit on underneath. Green. Bikini. Not that I was really lookin'. When I was able to drag my gaze back up her form to her face, I couldn't help but smile. She was absolutely beautiful, and something in her eyes and the way she stood there smiling up at me, said she didn't even know it.

On the drive back to La Push we chatted comfortably, swapping stories about past summers and vacations. She seemed surprised to find out that I remembered her from her visits with the chief. She asked about my plans to go to Forks High School; and I couldn't resist grinning at how excited she was.

I was almost disappointed when we got back to my house. The half hour cruise from Forks had flown by. She was so easy to talk to; I hated the idea of meeting up with the others and having to share her. I wanted to keep her all to myself. We climbed out of the car and made small talk, as we slowly walked the short distance from my house to the shore. Somehow or the other, her hand ended up in mine again.

The others were already set up at the beach when we got there. They all stood up to greet Bella; and I saw her start working that bottom lip over as soon as I started with the introductions. I also noticed that her face became a little pinker with each person I introduced her to. After introducing her to Sam, Paul, Jared, Leah, Quil, and Embry, I started glancing around for someone else for her to meet – I couldn't help it, I was curious as to just how pink she could get.

Leah stretched out on her beach towel, soaking up the rare NW peninsula sun. Bella was just standing there, glancing around at everyone, and looking more than a little uncomfortable. Leah motioned me away, and as much as I wanted to stay with Bella, I knew Leah wanted to try to establish some kind of girl bond in order to help Bella feel more at ease. So I grabbed Quil's beach ball and bounced it off Sam's head. He hadn't been looking at me, so it took him off guard. A few minutes later, the six of us were splashing around and play fighting in the waves; and Bella was settling down on her towel, in the sand next to Leah.

The next time I looked toward the beach, both girls were leaning back on their elbows, laughing hysterically. I couldn't help but smile to see Bella looking so happy.

"Jake," Sam called from further out, and gestured for me to join him. I swam out to where he and the others were pulling themselves up onto a huge rock. They all kept glancing back toward the beach, where Leah had Bella out of the t-shirt she was wearing and almost into the water. They were running in and out of the surf, as it washed up on the shore, laughing and squealing like little girls.

"So, what do ya think?" Sam asked, nodding toward the beach.

"What do I think?" I repeated, still too caught up in the beauty that was laughing, smiling, frolicking, Bella, to pay much attention to him.

"Hey Sam, I'd like to volunteer to Bella-sit if Jake's too distracted," Embry teased.

Jared, Paul and Sam snickered as I turned to growl at Embry and give him one of my deadliest death glares.

He threw his hands up, as if to surrender; and said, "Sorry man… but ya gotta admit, there are definitely worse things than being stuck watching over Isabella Swan."

There were chuckles and a general air of agreement from the others.

"Just remember Embry," I warned him playfully, "I'm watching Bella; you're just watching me watch Bella."

There was another chorus of laughter; and Embry was wearing a shit-eating grin.

"Maybe we should let Bella decide? Who knows… maybe she'll like me better?" he said smugly.

"Like hell!" I countered, lunging forward and pushing him off the rock and back into the water. He grabbed my arms and pulled me in with him. We both came back up laughing, splashing, and sputtering.

Sam sighed, "This, is **exactly** why Leah will be joining you dorks at Forks High in September. Otherwise, Bella will end up drained and left for dead, while you two stand by arguing over who gets to carry her damn books."

That was a sobering and very distressing mental picture.

"Leah's going to FHS?" Embry asked.

"Yeah, the counsel thinks it would be wise to have a female there. The rest of us realize we'll be better off if we have someone there to keep you two in line," Sam added chuckling.

"Does she know?" I asked.

"Yeah, I told her this morning." Sam replied, casting a glance back toward the girls. "It's why she's making the extra effort with Bella right now; which is something we all need to do. This is where she's safest; so it is essential that she feel comfortable here. We're also going to be stepping up patrols for a while, and widening our range a little. I'm also gonna have someone posted at the Swan's house every night."

I heard an especially loud squeal and turned to see Bella and Leah play-fighting in the waves like we'd been doing earlier. They were each trying to dunk the other while fighting against the current to stay upright themselves. Judging by the sound of things, they were both having a good time.

"I vote we go show Bella how much we want her to be comfortable here, instead of leaving her and Leah to have all the fun, while we sit off to the side talking about it." I grinned and looked at Sam pleadingly.

He rolled his eyes, and laughed at me. "Just one more thing lover boy, Billy's planning on talking to Chief Swan tonight. We're gonna need you to get Bella outta there for a little while. He wants her to hear the legends, but nothing more; at least for now."

"Sure, sure," I said waving him off, "I can handle that."

We all jumped back off the rock and swam back toward the girls. We swam and splashed around for hours. We played volleyball and kickball and buried Jared neck-deep in the sand. Bella's pale skin was starting to take on a pink look by the time the sun started setting and we started packing up to leave.

Bella and I walked back to my house to change out of our wet clothes before heading to Sam and Emily's where everyone always met before a bonfire. The chief was sitting on the couch watching a baseball game with dad when we walked in.

"Hey kids," he greeted us, standing up to give Bella a hug. "You have fun today?"

"Yeah," she replied, stifling a yawn but smiling happily, "I can't remember the last time I had so much fun."

I pointed her to the bathroom so she could dry off and change her clothes. I went down the hallway to my own room and changed into a dry pair of jeans and a t-shirt before joining Chief Swan on the couch to wait for Bella.

"So," the chief started as soon as I sat down, "Bells seemed happy."

"Yeah, she had a good time; we all did," I answered honestly; any further conversation on the matter was cut off by Bella stepping back into the living room. Her hair was pulled up on top of her hair, she was wearing a pair of old faded blue jeans with a hole in the knee and a pale yellow tank top. The day in the sun left her face practically glowing.

"I think I got burnt," she said, gently lifting the strap of her tank top to show the creamy pale skin beneath it. She was definitely pink.

A few minutes later, the four of us were out the door, and on our way to Sam and Emily's, Chief Swan pushing dad's chair, and Bella holding my hand. _'I could so get used to this,'_ I thought.

I introduced Bella to Emily, Sam's fiancée, and Sue and Harry Clearwater, before we met up with the rest of the pack and made our way back out to the beach. It wasn't long before everyone was settled around the dancing blue flames. Chief Swan was sitting between dad and Bella on the opposite side of the circle from me; and Leah was sitting next to Bella.

At first, I was a little pissed at not getting to sit by her; but then I realized how much easier it would be to watch her from my spot. Several strands of her long brown hair had fallen loose from the knot on her head, and they hung down framing her face. I could see the reflection of the flames in her eyes as she stared into it.

I barely heard the familiar voice of my father as he started telling the legends that I'd heard since birth. "The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning. And we are a small people still…"

As dad went on, I looked over at Chief Swan, and watched as he became absorbed in our history. Looking back at Bella, I saw the very same expression on her face. She had a faraway look in her eyes and a faint smile on her lips as she sat, enthralled, as dad spoke of the first spirit warriors. I looked back to her dad, trying to gauge his reactions. Of course, he didn't know yet that what he was hearing was anything more than Quileute fairytales; but he didn't look incredulous, or revolted either. I decided to take that as a good sign. I was getting nervous about the idea of dad revealing everything to Chief Swan. I refused to think about what would happen if he didn't take the news well.

Quil and Embry flanked me on either side, and I received simultaneous elbows to the ribs, jolting me from my Bella-filled daydreams. I was surprised to find dad nearing the end of his tale. I stood up and casually stretched, maybe overplaying the whole nonchalant thing a little bit. I walked around the outside of the circle until I was standing behind Bella, leaned down and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up, startled, and smiled. I offered her my hand and gestured down the beach with a tilt of my head; silently asking her to go for a walk. She stood and took my hand and I pulled her away from the dying fire.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Charlie

The blue-green flames had all but flickered out by the time Billy finished telling his last story; turned out he was quite the storyteller ole Billy Black. They say ya learn somethin' new everyday… and in the thirty plus years I'd known him I'd never have guessed at that. I'd felt like his voice had picked me up and carried me back in time. I could see, hear and smell the animals and the birds. The vile, putrid smelling smoke burnt my nose when they lit the cold one on fire. I shuddered involuntarily at the realness of it all; as I realized Billy and I were the only two left sitting around the smoldering driftwood remains.

I glanced around for Bella, immediately realizing that she was nowhere to be seen, I made to stand; but Billy's hand shot out to stop me.

"Isabella went for a walk with Jake," he said lightly, gesturing down the darkened beach. "He'll take good care of her, won't let her wander too far." He assured me.

I'd known Jake Black since the day he was born. Huh. Hell, I'd known his daddy since our diaper days; and his mother, Sarah, beautiful woman, inside **and** out… She and Renee were close once… He was a good kid.

Sam Uley, a young Quileute in his early twenties, quietly took a seat on the other side of the embers from Billy and myself. He grinned over at me and asked, "So, Chief Swan… Tonight is a night of firsts for you isn't it?"

Huh?

"I can't recall ever seeing you at any of our bonfires. Is this not the first time you've joined us?"

"Oh. Sure, sure… First bonfire," I smiled back at him.

"Can I ask you, what you thought?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and looking at me expectantly.

"What I thought?" I repeated dumbly.

"What you thought," he nodded, "about the bonfire; or… more specifically… about our legends."

"Legends? Oh the stories. Well they were damn fine stories." I had a feeling that this wasn't about my opinion of their tribal authors, or whoever it was that came up with the stories. The tales themselves were enjoyable, and the way Billy told them was almost magical; but there was just a little too much of the supercalafragilistic for my personal taste.

I looked over at Billy; and found him watching me.

"Charlie," he started, "we've known each other a very long time haven't we? Been friends for thirty-odd years?"

I nodded my head slowly, in silent agreement. Nothing good ever comes from the conversations that start like this, the little voice in the back of my head whispered.

"There are things, many, many, things, old friend, that you do not know; and the truth is that you are supposed to someday go to your grave **not** knowing. I cannot tell you, how much I wish that was an option; but in light of all that has happened…" he trailed off, looking to the stars above for several silent moments.

"We are brothers you and I," he continued, still appearing lost in the twinkling heavens above. "Through the years we have faced many problems, and shared much laughter. I have always known I could count on you my friend; and now, I want you to know that you can count on me. Your daughter's safety is every bit as important to me as it is to you. Together, we **will** keep her safe."

"Did you bring it?" he asked, shifting his attention to Sam.

Sam stood up and crossed the sand to Billy in three long strides. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a folded slip of paper, handing it to Billy before resuming his spot across from us. Billy straightened the paper and handed it to me.

It was a newspaper clipping of an article about an animal attack in Phoenix, AZ where two people were killed. I skimmed over the article briefly, before looking back at Billy, confused.

"Those two people," Billy said, gesturing at the clipping in my hand; "they had a sixteen year old son. His name was James."

My breath caught. _James? As in… the __**same**__ James?_

As if he could read my mind, Billy was nodding. "The very same James, Charlie. According to the newspapers his parents were savagely attacked and brutally killed by some 'unidentified wild animal'," he finger quoted. "The boy disappeared not long before the bodies were found. He's still listed as missing."

"Chief Swan," Sam spoke up, "that was no animal attack. You're a cop, call Phoenix – ask if there was any blood on the scene at all. The article says nothing about it, but I'd be willing to guarantee there was none."

"So… What are you saying Sam?" But as soon as the words escaped my mouth, I knew exactly what he was alluding to. "You… You think James… The same no good, crazy ass, son of a bitch that's been terrorizing my little girl, killed his own parents?"

I couldn't fight the shudder that ran through my body. The idea of my daughter being stalked by a psycho ex-boyfriend was bad enough; the idea that said psycho could in fact be a murderer… Jesus Fucking Christ!

Instead of answering, Sam looked at Billy. They exchanged worried glances, and it was Billy that finally spoke.

"The legends Charlie… Legends we hold sacred; and **do not** share with those outside our tribe. Passed down from one generation to the next. Not just stories, they are the history of our people."

"Do you remember the cold ones I spoke of ? They too are real. It is our belief that this James that is after Isabella is in fact a cold one, a blood drinker.

"Wha-?" OK now, with over fifteen years on the force, even in a little town like Forks, I've seen and heard some pretty crazy shit… But I'd be lyin' if I didn't admit that I thought someone might've slipped somethin' into Billy Black's peace pipe. "Billy… Man, do you hear what you're saying? I mean… Cold ones? Blood drinkers? What are we talking about here?" I laughed, "Vampires?"

The fact that I was the only one laughing did nothing to ease my pounding heart, or settle my highly-strung, over-plucked nerves. I stopped laughing. "You **can't** be serious," I half mumbled.

"Let's think back," Billy pressed on, "Sunday afternoon at your house. Bella was describing James; can you remember what she said about him? Can you remember the description of the cold ones? Can you pretend to not see the similarities?"

"Bella said James and his flunkies wore red contact lenses, not that their eyes were actually red," I countered

"She'd know the difference?" Sam interjected. "Or she'd assume they were contacts, or believe they were contacts because that's more logical, easier to accept?"

"Well it's a helluva lot easier to accept that than what you two are proposing, that's for damn sure!" They couldn't possibly really believe what they were saying. Could they?

Billy gave a brief nod to Sam who started removing his shoes, socks and white cotton t-shirt. While the younger man busied himself undressing, Billy spoke again.

"The legend of the spirit wolves, spoke of our origins; and of the first protectors of our people – the first Quileutes to shape-shift. Do you remember?"

I nodded without speaking and he continued.

"There is only one way to kill a cold-one; you must rip its body to shreds and burn the pieces. There is nothing, no one, more suited to this, than The Protectors."

I rose to my feet, thinking maybe I should get Bells and get the hell home. I could always call Billy the following evening and see if he'd found a cure for his crazy.

"The protectors… Who the hell are the protectors? You can't possibly mean that group of kids that Jake's runnin' around with?"

Sam snorted and chuckled at that, although I failed to find the humor in it. Billy took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.

"Sam, come here," Billy instructed; and the young man obliged. "Charlie, look at Sam. Look in his eyes."

I did as I was told, wondering what they were playing at. _'Maybe this is where they tell me the truth about unicorns and the tooth fairy',_ I thought, chuckling to myself.

After a minute, Billy asked me to turn around; and again, I complied. A second later, there was a horrible ripping, tearing, growling sound behind me. I spun around and without thinking let out a frightened, "Holy shit!" The image that greeted me was enough to knock me flat of my ass. Standing before me, where Sam Uley had been less than a minute before, was an enormous, black wolf.

My heart was jack hammering away in my chest. For a minute, I thought I was gonna have a heart attack. I couldn't catch my breath, couldn't form coherent thoughts. I open and closed my mouth several times, unable to produce a sound.

"It's ok Charlie," Billy assured, "Sam won't hurt you."

Sam? Huh?

Billy nodded, and the giant wolf approached us slowly. When he stood less than a foot away, this unbelievably big creature brought its face to mine, and met my gaze dead on. There was no denying the intelligence in the animal's eyes. Eyes I had just looked into a moment before, on the face of Sam Uley.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **OK, So it's uh, it's been almost a month huh? Wow. RL has been absolutely crazy. Four school age children with all of their end of the year activities and shenanigans, I haven't had a whole lot of time for myself. I apologize for the delay, and hope you find it worth the wait.  
As always, SM owns all things Twilight.

* * *

**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Seven:

Charlie

There was no denying it; trust me, I wanted to deny it, with every ounce of my being. It wasn't that the wolf's eyes _resembled_ Sam's they **were** Sam's. No goddamn doubt about it.

Now, I've always considered myself an open-minded guy; but I am also a sensible, rational guy. So, when I found myself in a situation where the most obvious, most logical explanation, was that Sam Uley had just… just morphed into a giant fucking dog… …Well, let's just say, it'll mess with your damn head.

Believe it or not, I wasn't afraid when I saw the creature; or at least I wasn't afraid **of** the creature. I **was** afraid that I'd lost my goddamn mind. Insanity, hallucinations, a form of psychosis, the most fucked up nightmare I've ever had in my life, these all made more sense to me than the idea that what I was staring at was real. He nudged my hand with his big furry head, as if he wanted me to pet him or something. Granted, feeling the fur on my hand kinda solidified the reality of the situation.

The wolf, err… Sam stared into my eyes for another minute, before turning around and picking up a pair of boxers in his snout, and stalking off into the darkness. He reappeared about a minute later, furless and walking upright; he silently set about pulling his clothes back on. Once he was dressed, he joined Billy and I near the now fully extinguished fire.

We stood there, talking, for almost another hour before Jake and Bella finally returned. I heard her laughter before I saw them; and the sound was music to my ears. She sounded happier than I could remember having heard her in a long time. When they stepped into view, the three of us stopped talking. Billy told me he'd stop by the station, next week, so we could go over some of their plans and arrangements.

Jacob's arm was casually slung around her shoulders, and they were both beaming. I like Jake, even if he is a dog; but right then, I felt an almost overpowering urge to let him know how bad things would be for him, if he hurt my little girl.

"C'mon kiddo," I called to her, "you ready to head back? It's gettin' late and yer old man's gotta work in the mornin'."

She smiled and nodded; and I gripped the handles of Billy's chair and started pushing him back toward his house, where we'd left the car. Jake and Bella walked a little ways ahead of us and we could occasionally hear their laughter drift back to us.

"So, you still plannin' on giving it to her tonight?" Billy asked quietly.

"Wha-? Oh," I chuckled, "would you believe I completely forgot about it?"

He laughed. "Well my friend, on a night like tonight, I suppose it would be understandable."

By the time we arrived back at Billy's, Bella had already gone inside and retrieved her bag, and she and Jake were leaning against the cruiser waiting for us. Jake looked our way with a cocked brow, and I saw Billy give him a slight nod. Jake said something to Bells and took off at a jog into the house. He came back out and slipped me a set of keys.

"She's all set," he whispered; before casually strolling back over to stand by Bella.

"Hey Bells," I called and gestured for her to join me. We walked a few feet until we were standing next to the old Chevy pick up truck that I'd recently bought from Billy. We stopped walking and she turned to look up at me expectantly.

I held my hand out, fingers curled around the keys, and waited for her to put hers out palm up. When she did I dropped the keys in her hand and smiled. She looked confused, staring down at the keys and then looking back up at me. I reached back and patted the door of the Chevy, and her face lit up.

"For Me?" she asked in disbelief.

I just nodded and she let out a squeal.

"Oh my god! Are you kidding?" She laughed and threw her arms around my neck. "Oh dad this is… this is awesome! This is perfect! I love it!" She opened the door and climbed up into the cab of the truck to examine the interior. I couldn't help but notice Jake clamoring into the passenger seat, telling her about all the work he'd down on the truck.

"Meet you at the house?" I asked her, tapping on the front quarter panel.

"Yeah, I'll be right behind you. God dad, thank you. Thank you so much!" She had tears shining in her eyes, happy tears.

It made my heart soar to be able to give that to her. She's known more than her fair share of tears, and nowhere near enough of them have been happy. I smiled and nodded before bidding Billy goodnight and heading to the cruiser. I watched in my rearview mirror as Jake climbed out of the truck and waved goodbye to Bells. I pulled out and the truck roared to life; no sneakin' off with that engine, I thought with a chuckle, as she pulled out behind me.

The drive home seemed to fly by. My mind was stuck on a continuous loop of the twilight zone-ish events of the evening. It was a lot to take in, vampires, and werewolves… Jesus Christ! I gave my head a fierce shake; I needed to sleep on it all. Everything always seemed more clear in the light of day, after a good night's sleep. I pulled into the driveway and a minute later, Bells pulled up to the curb in front of the house. We met on the front porch, and I unlocked the door while she stretched and stifled a yawn.

"Tired?" I asked with a soft smile. She looked so much like her mother; sometimes it damn near broke my heart to look at her.

She nodded through her yawn as we both entered the house. She hugged my neck again and adjusted her tote bag on her shoulder. Her voice was small and tired when she spoke.

"Thank you again, dad. I love the truck, it's absolutely perfect; and thanks for letting me go to La Push today. I had a lot of fun. Jake and the others are great. They uh they asked if I could come back out tomorrow. They want to show me the tide pools and Jake said something about a hot spring."

She looked up at me, eyes pleading, and I couldn't have told her no if I'd wanted to. "Sure, sure. Just make sure you take your phone, and try to keep it on ya, and send me a text to let me know when you're going, and when you'll be back.

She smiled again and pulled me down to press a soft kiss on my gruff cheek. "Good night dad," she whispered, and trudged up the stairs to her room.

A few minutes later I heard her head into the bathroom to shower. I sat down in the living room with a beer and caught up on the ball scores while Bells got cleaned up. I waited until I heard her shuffle back to her room before heading up the stairs to my own.

When I awoke the next morning I spent my entire morning routine rehashing the events of the previous night. By the time I tied up my boots and walked out the front door, I had wrapped my mind around it all as well as I could ever be expected to.

Bells sent me a text message around 10 o'clock letting me know that she was heading out to La Push. It was then that I felt the sudden rush of gratitude to Billy and his 'protectors.' I felt guilty as hell for leaving her on her own so much, granted I had one of the guys drive by the house every hour when she was there to make sure everything appeared to be ok; but that wasn't the same as me being there with her. However, Forks was a small town with a small budget and therefore a rather small number of officers on the force. This meant that I had to work a lot of hours. Fortunately Forks was also a safe, quiet town; otherwise it would be much worse.

Billy called me just before lunchtime and we talked about the patrols that the protectors were running and about how they were going to expand them to encompass the high school once it opened up for the new school year. I gave him Bella's cell phone number and he said he'd make sure that everybody had it as well as mine. We spoke a little longer and made tentative plans for an upcoming fishing trip before saying goodbye. The rest of the day passed by as uneventfully as any other day in Forks.

As I made my way to the cruiser to head home, my cell phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID and smiled as I flipped the phone open. "Hey baby girl, I'm just on my way home. You want me to grab a couple of pizzas on my way?"

"Hey dad!" Her voice was light and airy and full of laughter, I felt the smile on my face broaden. I could here the sounds of laughter and talking in the background and realized she probably wasn't calling from home. "I was actually…" She abruptly stopped and started giggling. "Hang on one sec dad," she squealed.

She must've moved the phone away from her face, but I could still hear her laughing and squealing in the background. "Jacob Black will you **stop it**! I'm trying to talk to my dad!"

She was panting when she returned to the phone a minute later. "Sorry about that dad, Jacob and Quil are being jerks," she laughed. "Anyway, Leah invited me to sleep over at her house tonight. We were going to head out to the hot spring early tomorrow morning. Would that be ok?"

She sounded so happy that I wouldn't dream of denying her. "Sure, sure," I answered with a chuckle.

She squealed in delight. "Thanks dad! I'll be home in plenty of time to fix dinner tomorrow. I promise!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the way she tried to take care of me. Even under the circumstances that had brought us together, with her being in mortal danger, she tried to be the caregiver. "I'll see ya tomorrow then Bells," I told her before hanging up with a deep sigh.

I stopped at the diner and had dinner before heading home. I felt a pang in my chest when I walked through the front door of the empty house. Bella hadn't been back with me long, but I had quickly become accustomed to her presence. It felt as though she had turned a light back on inside of me. I stepped to the mantle and stared at the photographs of Bella over the years, wondering how she'd grown up so fast and where the time had gone.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge, settled into my favorite chair and flipped on the television. I stared unseeing at the screen, thinking about Bella until I dozed off in the recliner, my beer untouched on the table beside me.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Bella

The last few days had been some of the best in a long time. Jacob, Leah and the others were awesome. They were interested in hearing about my life before Forks, but never pressed for anything I wasn't comfortable talking about. Having known each other all their lives they never ran out of stories to tell about each other.

As hard as it was to believe, James rarely entered my mind; and when he did, someone was always quick to offer up some sort of distraction. By my third visit to La Push, I felt like I'd known them all my life.

Leah asked me to sleep over and I was a little surprised when Charlie said yes. We painted our toenails obnoxious colors and chatted about school and boys. I thought the story of my only real boyfriend was screwed up, but I couldn't imagine dealing with what Leah had dealt with. I had left James back in Arizona, and in spite of Charlie's nerves, I didn't really expect to ever see him again.

Leah's only serious boyfriend had been Sam. Leah and Sam had even planned on getting married once she graduated high school; or at least, that was the plan until Sam met her cousin Emily. Her own cousin! Leah said that when Sam and Emily met it was love at first sight. I couldn't believe it, and I was instantly pissed off at Sam for being such a jerk. How could she hang out with him every day? Oh my god, how could she stand seeing the two of them together? I'd seen them the night of the bonfire and the way they looked at each other… You could practically feel the love flowing between the two of them. My heart broke for my new friend as I tried to imagine how much it must've hurt her to endure that.

When I asked her about it, she just smiled a sad smile and shrugged her shoulders saying, "You can't fight fate Bella. Besides, if Emily was meant to be Sam's happiness then Sam obviously wasn't meant to be mine was he?"

I guess I couldn't really argue with her logic, but I still couldn't imagine the pain she'd endured. After learning this I started noticing little things about Leah - she still loved him, in spite of everything. I developed a whole new respect for Leah then.

I spent most of my time in La Push, and when I wasn't there Leah or Jacob was at Charlie's.

Leah and I babysat Emily's niece, Claire, on a regular basis; we'd decided to save up for a trip into Seattle to go school shopping in August. Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it, it was almost the Fourth of July.

We all decided to head to Tacoma for the annual Freedom Fair. Jake, Leah, Paul, Embry, Quil and myself loaded into my truck and Jacob's Rabbit as we set out for our weekend. Some friend of Billy Black's had a boat that we were allowed the use of for the weekend and we had a blast. We went to Marine Park and watched the air show; and later, when the guys took off to check out the car show, Leah and I made our way to the stage to listen to the live music.

We had dinner at The Lobster Shop and then went to claim a spot to watch the fireworks from. The fireworks show was amazing; they had it all synchronized to the music on one of the local radio stations. When it wrapped up around 10:30, we were all exhausted. I barely remembered getting back to the campground where we were spending the night.

I suppose I should've anticipated something happening, but I was so caught up my every day life… so caught up in just being…

It was a week after we'd returned from Tacoma, and Leah had spent the night with me. I woke up a little after 6, and snuck out of the bedroom to take a shower. We were supposed to pick Claire up at Emily's at 9, but there was no reason to disturb Leah so early. After my shower I returned to my room, quietly settled down at my desk and powered on my laptop. I hadn't checked my email in nearly two weeks and I expected both Renee and Tiffany were probably a little upset at me.

I opened up my email and found three messages from Renee, two from Tiff and two from an address I didn't recognize. I quickly read through and responded to the emails from Renee, and then did the same to the ones from Tiffany. When I opened the first remaining email, I nearly jumped out of my skin causing me to also fall out of my chair. It was from James.

Leah heard the commotion and immediately sprang out of bed. "Bells?!" she half shouted as she spotted me on the floor. "What the fuck happened?" she exclaimed as she hurried to help me to my feet.

I couldn't speak. There were no words to describe the feelings in my head and my chest as I felt my knees give out beneath me causing me to crumple back onto the floor in a heap of soundless tears and quivering flesh. Leah stared at me expectantly, trying to understand what had brought about my reaction. The only thing I could do was point a trembling finger toward the laptop.

Leah turned her attention to the laptop still sitting on my desk, and I heard her sharp intake of breath as she saw the email from James. "Have there been others?" She demanded, without turning to look at me.

"N-no," I stuttered, "th-that's the first, b-but there's an-nother one in m-my inbox I th-think."

She printed both messages before grabbing her cell phone, yelling something about meeting me at Emily's, and slamming out the front door.

I sat in my spot on the floor for several minutes before feeling steady enough to pull myself back onto my feet. I righted my desk chair and sat back down in it. I hadn't actually read the message from James, and a part of me was desperate to know what he'd had to say; the other part of me knew there was nothing he could say that I would really want to hear. The masochistic side of me won out and I reopened the first message. The background was red, just like the paper he used for all the old notes he'd sent and left for me. It appeared to be a poem.

_For Izzy-_

_Yearning_

_Burning_

_Never learning,_

_All the while_

_Your stomach's churning -_

_Heeding_

_Needing_

_Heart is bleeding,_

_On your soul_

_The demon's feeding;_

_Trying_

_Sighing_

_Can't stop crying,_

_Just accept it_

_You are dying._

_James_

I felt a shudder run through me as I read over it again. Perhaps I'd been wrong about James. Perhaps he **was** crazy enough to come looking for me. I wiped away the tears and opened the second email message. Much like the first the background was red, the second message also contained a poem.

_Izzy…_

_Watching_

_Waiting_

_Knowing you're mine_

_Patience_

_Vigilance_

_Biding my time_

_Loving_

_Needing_

_Counting your breaths_

_Forever_

_Eternal_

_Awaiting your death_

_James_

Another message came in as I read over the first two. My fingers were trembling as I ran them across the touch-pad to open the newest message. Again, the background was dark red; and I felt the old familiar hopelessness envelop me as I read.

_Izz,_

_I met a girl; her name was Jennifer. She reminded me so much of you. I had to have her. She had your brown eyes and your brown hair. She was just a little thing – like you. She wasn't near as sweet as you Izzy. I thought she might be, but even after draining her I didn't have that sweet taste on my lips that I got from just kissing you. I miss kissing you so much. – I can't wait until I get to do it again. Don't worry baby, I know you'll put up a fight. But we both know I like it like that don't we? I'm coming for you Isabella and when I find you I'm not EVER going to let you out of my sight again. You will be mine for eternity. We're going to have so much fun Izzy, don't you think?_

_4Ever, James_

_PS_

_Wherever you go_

_Whatever you do_

_You need to know_

_I will __**ALWAYS**__ find you._

I read over the third message three times before my tears prevented me from reading it any more. Had he completely lost his mind? Had he really killed someone? I tried to convince myself that he was only trying to scare me, and while he was doing one hell of a job, I didn't quite believe that that was all he wanted. I held my head in my hands and cried until I couldn't cry any more.

Feeling completely numb, I shut the laptop down and shuffled into the bathroom to wash my tear-stained face. As I walked down the stairs, I heard the familiar sound of Jake's Rabbit pull into the driveway. Leah was with him, and they didn't bother knocking on the door. He met me in the middle of the living room, muttering something that sounded like "rip that bloodsucking bastard to shreds," and immediately wrapped his strong arms around me. I thought I'd cried it all out before leaving my room, but found myself bawling again in Jacob's incredibly warm embrace. He patted my hair and whispered soothing words of reassurance into my ear as I fell apart in his arms.

The only thing I seemed to be able to say was "Why?" which I repeated over and over again. I'd never done anything to James to cause him to treat me this way. In fact, I'd never done anything to anyone.

Leah had gone straight up the stairs and came back down with my tote bag and an overnight bag packed. "There's three now," she directed at Jake as she stepped into the living room. She put her warm hand on my shoulder and tried to gently separate us. "Come on Bells, I called Charlie and forwarded the emails to him at work. You're gonna spend the night with me tonight."

I sniffled and gave Jacob one last squeeze before withdrawing from his comforting arms. Leah wrapped her arm around my waist and led me to Jake's car. She sat in the back seat with me, stroking my hair and whispering reassurances the entire ride back to La Push.

Jake dropped Leah off at Emily's so she could pick Claire up and took me on to the Clearwater's. When Leah arrived Jake took Claire outside to play while Leah led me up to her room and helped me into her bed.

"Just lay down for a little while Bella. I called Charlie, he's gonna stop by when he gets off work. He's gonna call your mom and see if she's heard anything from or about James lately."

"Nooo," I half groaned, half whined. "Renee will freak out," I told her.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe; but it won't hurt her to freak out a little bit. She needs to know what's goin' on too Bells."

I tried to argue but she cut me off. "I'm gonna fix you some tea, it'll help you sleep for a little while. You'll feel better after you wake up." With that she spun on her heel and left the room. She returned several minutes later with a steaming mug of tea. At her insistence, I drank it and lay back on her bed. Soon after, I felt my entire body growing heavier and heavier until I couldn't even force my eyelids open. With the sounds of Leah, Jacob and Claire drifting into the room from what sounded like a thousand miles away, I gave in to the pull of sleep.

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**A/N2:** Gonna do something I've never done before. I've seen it work well for others so I figure why not? I have a chunk of CH 8 already written, a chunk that includes the debut of two members of our favorite coven of vampires. Wonder which two it'll be? Teasers for reviews! evil grin


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** OK Chapter Eight in record time! Some of this came out as I was trying to finish Chapter Seven so I kind of had a head start... Next 2 weeks R crazy for me. Kids getting out of school, all their end of the year stuff, and then getting them all ready for their summer. I'm hoping to leech some writing time here and there but I'm not sure how it's going to work out. I'll do what I can When I can and update again as soon as I can. Thanks for sticking with me.  
~Sonia

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**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Eight:

Charlie

When Leah called me to tell me that that bastard had sent Bella a couple of emails with threatening poems in them, I wanted to up and leave right then. I wanted to take my ass to Phoenix, find the worthless piece of shit, and put an end to his existence. I was irate. She was just starting to relax and enjoy life. What kind of sick bastard was he to taunt and play with her like that?

Fortunately, Leah was quick to remind me of my own mortality and she assured me that she had already called Jake and Sam. In fact, Sam was speaking with the tribal elders at that very moment about stepping up precautions.

"I wanna take her to my house Charlie, maybe have her stay a couple nights or so," she told me. "She's not gonna wanna be alone for a while," she predicted. "Maybe you could stop by and see her when you get off work?"

"Sure, sure. I'll do that Leah. Hey, forward me those emails." I told her and gave her my email address. You keep me posted on what's goin' on you hear me?" I demanded.

"Of course," she answered, and the line went dead.

I called Stan into my office and he agreed to come by the house later and set it up so that Bella wouldn't receive any more email from James. He said he'd have it all automatically forward on to me instead.

Almost an hour later, when I received the emails from Leah, my rage reached a whole new level. It was as if he wanted her to know what he was. By the time I finished reading the third message I decided that I wanted him to come. I knew that this wouldn't end until he found her; and I was tired of waiting. I wanted to reply to his message and extend the invitation personally. Let him get it over with, so I could watch and laugh and eat fuckin' popcorn as a whole pack of wolves tear his ass apart.

As soon as I'd processed all that, the little voice in the back of my head brought up another possibility. What if Billy and those kids were wrong? What if he came and when the shit hit the fan he won? I tried to dismiss the idea; the wolves had numbers on their side, not to mention the element of surprise. Surely James wouldn't be expecting a pack of giant wolves waiting in ambush. _But there's always that chance…_ the voice persisted.

I decided that I was going to relish every moment I had with my daughter. I vowed that I would enjoy her and the time I had with her to the fullest, and not just while we lived under the knowledge that those moments may well be limited. I also decided that I needed to come up with some sort of contingency plan; determined that the only way James would ever get to Bella, would involve him stepping over my corpse first.

I called Renee to let her know about the emails and to find out if she'd heard anything. Of course, she completely freaked out. She and Phil were in the process of packing up to move to Jacksonville, where Phil had been offered a coaching job and a chance to settle down. Once she calmed down a little, she assured me that she hadn't seen or heard anything at all from or about James.

I was glad and more than a little relieved to hear that they were moving. I couldn't really say anything… I mean, truth was, she wasn't mine to worry about any more, not that that would ever stop me. I'd been worried that Renee would find herself caught in the middle of this mess and end up hurt. The further away she could get herself the better in my opinion. We spoke for a few more minutes, I wished her luck in her move and promised to keep her posted on all things Bella before we said goodbye.

Shortly after six o'clock, I climbed into the cruiser and pointed it toward La Push. When I got there Bella was just waking up from a nap. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her face was tear-stained. It was hard to believe she was the same girl that had been lighting up my world for the last few weeks. My heart felt like it shattered in my chest at the sight of her.

She tried, unconvincingly, to reassure me that she was fine; and of course she was ticked because I'd called her mother. She fretted over worrying her mother like it was a cardinal sin. She looked as guilty as if she'd sent the damn emails herself and was therefore personally responsible for causing her mother grief. God forbid someone worry about Bella, I thought as I listened to her giving me hell. I found myself having to fight to keep the amused smile off my face. Just like her mom, she was absolutely adorable when she was mad, in spite of the evidence of her tears.

Now, I've known Harry Clearwater and his wife Sue for a good long time. So when they invited me to stay for dinner, there was no way I was turning it down. Sue's culinary expertise combined with Harry's famous fish fry was second only to Bells' home cooked meals. I'd spent my lunch hour on the damn phone and therefore hadn't had anything to eat since a doughnut around nine o'clock that morning; a fact that left me more than grateful for the invitation.

After dinner, Leah led Bells upstairs so she could shower. When she returned, she caught my eye and silently gestured for me to follow her, as she made her way outside.

Jake and I both followed and found her standing on the front porch, talking on her cell phone. She held a finger up for us to wait as she spoke quickly and quietly into the phone. I inhaled deeply, letting the cool, damp air fill my lungs; as the heady scent of pine trees and salt water permeated my nose. I meant for it to be a relaxing breath, but it did nothing to ease the tension or my growing impatience as I stood there waiting. When she finally hung up, she turned, to find Jake and I both waiting and staring at her expectantly.

"OK," she started, sighing deeply. "My job is to keep Bells distracted. We talked about saving up for a school-shopping trip in Seattle and I'm gonna keep us as busy as possible. Sam thinks we can bring her out of her funk and keep her mind off the bloodsucker if we keep her busy and avoid leaving her alone as much as possible. I'll help her talk through it. I'm pretty sure she'll be able to talk to me about it. It'll help her move past it and we just might learn something else about the leech in the process. We're doubling up patrols starting tonight. Please don't take offense, but the rez is probably the safest place for her."

She paused and looked at me, as if expecting me to argue, but I had nothin'. She was right. If a vampire was gonna attack, Bells would be better off in close proximity to as many of those capable of protecting her as possible. I met her eye and gave a reluctant nod of my head.

She laid a hand on my shoulder and looked me square in the eye. "She's probably not gonna be home much chief, but she **will** be safe. I promise."

"That's what counts," I patted her hand and sighed, "the only damn thing that counts."

Leah then turned her attention to Jake and told him that Sam wanted to see him ASAP. Jake nodded, gave me a quick farewell salute and trotted off toward the woods behind the Clearwater's house, shedding his shirt as he went.

I told Leah about the steps I'd taken to ensure that Bells didn't receive any more emails before we made our way back into the house. As soon as we heard the sound of the water cutting off upstairs, Leah excused herself so that she'd be there when Bella came out of the bathroom.

I chatted with Sue and Harry until Bella came back down the stairs to tell me goodnight; and then I decided to head home. I hugged Bells as tight as I could without fear of hurting her, and pressed my lips against the top of her damp head.

I strolled out to the cruiser, my mind reeling with the possibility of James eventually showing up in Forks. I may very well only be human, I thought, as I climbed into the car, but one thing was for certain; if that fucker was gonna lay a hand on my daughter, he was gonna have to go through me first. I just needed a plan.

I drove to my empty house. Where I spent that evening, as well as the next twenty three consecutive lonely evenings, going through countless of scenarios, all resulting in me setting fire to a certain blond-haired red-eyed bloodsucking prick.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Bella

"Oh. My. God!" Leah exclaimed, shifting her shopping bags, grabbing onto my wrist, and pulling me towards the gazillionth boutique of the day. "Bells did you see those R&R jeans?"

I tried to plant my feet beneath me in a futile attempt at resistance; but she gave an almost painful yank to my arm, causing me to cry out and allow myself to be dragged along behind her for a couple of steps.

"Damn it Bells! Stop fighting me," she huffed in exasperation. "We've had an awesome day and you know it. Stop acting like we're going in for a root canal," she paused in her rant and appeared to momentarily reconsider her approach. "Come on," she cooed, tugging on my arm, "this will be the last store I promise."

I couldn't hold back the laugh that erupted from deep within my chest. "Yeah," I rolled my eyes, "that might work if I hadn't already heard it three freakin' times Leah." I counted off on my fingers; "our first 'last stop' was that shoe store with the Doc Martens that you couldn't live without. Our second 'last stop' was Victoria's Secret."

"They were having their semi-annual sale Bells!" she interrupted.

I pointedly ignored her. "Then there was the third 'last stop', at Macy's, for that absolutely adorable little denim skirt that you saw in the window. Leah, I love you, you know I do; and yes I've had a lot of fun shopping with you today. But come on! I'm effing-exhausted girl. We have been shopping nonstop for the past **ten** hours." I pointed to the darkening sky above us, "Look up there, even the sun has called it quits for the day. My feet are killing me. These bags have been restricting the blood flow to my hands and fingers for so long that I'm not sure they'll ever be the same again. I'm done with the shoppin' and ready for the droppin'." I was whining and I knew it, but I couldn't make myself stop. "Please Lee-Lee," I begged, "Have mercy."

Leah chuckled softly, and her expression softened as she shook her head and sighed. "OK. Compromise. See that bench right there?" She pointed to a concrete bench near the boutique's entrance, and I nodded. "You sit down right there, put your bags down and your feet up and wait for me, I'll run in and try on the jeans, nothing but the jeans, pay for them and be right back out. School starts in two weeks and who knows when I'll get back to Seattle; I need those jeans Bells," she pouted.

I nodded and allowed her to lead me to the bench before disappearing through the door. I plopped down and shifted my packages around in an effort to allow the blood to flow into my fingers. I couldn't remember ever buying so much at one time without being coerced into it; and up until the last couple of hours I really had thoroughly enjoyed my day in Seattle with Leah. Shopping with her was nothing like shopping with Renee. If you asked Leah for her opinion, she'd give it to you without hesitation, and without trying to convince you to agree with her. We'd spent hours trying on some of the most ridiculous outfits during our little shopping spree.

Leah and I had spent the past eight weeks saving every dime we could get a hold of. We babysat in La Push and in Forks, we ran errands for people, anything we could do to earn a dollar for this trip to Seattle. Renee and Phil had insisted on adding to my shopping fund when they heard about the truck that Charlie bought for me, and Leah had been saving her pennies forever. So we both ended up with more than enough to equip ourselves for the coming school year.

While on one hand, the summer was speeding by; it was hard to believe that I'd only been living in Forks for nine weeks. Leah and I had quickly become the best of friends; it felt like I'd known her forever. I'd spent almost every day since the bonfire with Leah and Jacob and the rest of the gang from La Push. If not for them, I don't think I would've survived hearing from James; but they were there for me and they kept me from letting it all get to me. I'd never forget how safe I felt as soon as Jacob burst through the front door that day and wrapped me in his arms.

Jacob… He and I had also become unbelievably close in what seemed like a very short period of time. He was like the big brother I'd never had, always there to pick me up and dust me off when I fell down; and I fell down a lot. Leah insisted that Jake's feelings for me were anything but familial; but I always just laughed her off. Jacob, just like Leah, was one of my best friends and that was all.

My peaceful reverie was suddenly interrupted by the lilting sound of an almost musical, though thoroughly disgusted, sounding voice. "Ugh! Ohmygod! What **is** that retched smell?"

I took a whiff of the air around me and couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary. When I looked up, I couldn't help but gape as I found myself staring at what had to be the most beautiful creature on the planet. Words like Venus and Aphrodite swam around in my head. She looked close to my age; but she looked like art brought to life, standing there with her platinum blond hair framing her perfect, pale face and hanging down her back, past her shoulders in soft cascading waves. Her eyes were the most unusual shade of honey-gold. She was considerably taller than me, probably not much shorter than Leah. She had one perfectly manicured hand resting on her slender hip and the other covering her nose as she glanced around in disgust. She was impeccably dressed in a blood-red sundress with large white polka dots that hung just below her knees. Over her shoulders, she wore a white shrug that looked so soft that it had to be cashmere. She finished it all off with a dangerous looking pair of red stilettos strapped to her feet. I was, without a doubt, in awe of her beauty.

As soon as I realized that I'd been shamelessly staring at the beautiful stranger for god only knew how long, I heard a second voice, every bit as melodious as the first, and my attention was directed to the 'lady in red's' previously unseen companion. The contrast between the two was almost laughable, or it would have been had I not been so awestruck.

"Eww…" The second female chimed in, "I swear it smells… it smells like wet dog." She was every bit as beautiful as her companion, albeit in a very different way. In fact, they appeared to be polar opposites, the varying definitions of the word beautiful brought to life. The second girl was tiny, even shorter than me by a couple of inches, with perfect, dainty features. Her skin was almost unnaturally pale, and her eyes were the same golden color as the first girl's. Her hair was black and cropped very short, she wore it sticking out in every direction from atop her head. She reminded me of a fairy or a pixie, and when she moved, she seemed to dance from point a to point b instead of just walking like everybody else. Like her companion, the small girl was also dressed to the nines in a pleated light yellow mini skirt with a yellow and white long sleeve peasant blouse that hung off her shoulders, leaving her pale skin exposed. She wore an assortment of gold bangles on her wrists that jingled and jangled as she waved her hand in an attempt to fan the unpleasant odor away from her face.

"Rose… Hun… whatever the nasty smell is, it gets even stronger closer to the door. It's foul. I am not going in there. Let's just go meet the boys; they're already at the coffee shop.

"Did you not see those Rock & Republic jeans Alice?" The tall blond practically growled. "Wait out here if you want, or head on down to the coffee shop and I'll meet you guys there in a little bit." With that, she gave a huff, spun on her five-inch heel, plugged her nose and disappeared inside.

I chuckled to myself as I watched her go. When I turned my attention back to the dark-haired pixie, I thought for a second that she was staring at me; but her eyes seemed to glaze over, and for a split second she appeared unsteady on her feet. A moment later, her eyes cleared and I saw her give a slight shake to her head, as though trying to clear it. She looked up and met my gaze then and her lips turned up into one of the warmest, most welcoming smiles I'd ever been graced with. Something very similar to recognition flashed across her face; and without breaking eye contact with me, she dug into her oversized, white purse and retracted a tiny silver cell phone. She pressed a button and lifted the device to her ear. I couldn't help but be intrigued as she held my gaze, keeping that breathtaking smile plastered to her face even as I heard her speak into the phone.

"Hey, Jazzy," she practically purred. Rosalie's holed up in that little boutique on Fifth and University; it might be awhile, why don't you guys meet us here? Uh-huh. OK. Yeah, I'll meet you out front." She closed the phone, still smiling at me and took a tentative step toward me.

At that very moment, Leah came barreling out of the shop, almost colliding with the beautiful little pixie. With less than a foot between the two of them they both froze, staring daggers into each other, nostrils flaring, murder in their eyes and a sound that I swore resembled a growl, ripping from each of them. Leah was trembling violently as she struggled to calm her breath. They both moved as though to circle each other, knees bent as though ready to spring. Once Leah had put herself between the small girl and myself she stopped moving. Her teeth were clenched as she tried to speak to me between ragged breaths.

"Bells," she rasped, "start walking."

The smaller girl shot me a curious glance as Leah spoke. I moved to object, but Leah saw it coming. Without ever taking her eyes off the tiny girl, Leah took several steps backward, moving closer to me until she was able to nudge me with her hip. At which point she glanced at me just long enough to silently tell me that there was no room in this for any argument from me.

"God damn it. Go!" she insisted, "I'll catch up with you before you make it to the cross walk."

I stood and with one last questioning look at the two of them, I turn and obeyed, slowly walking down the sidewalk. True to her word, Leah joined me before I reached the end of the block.

"What was that?" I asked as she fell in stride with me.

"Ancient history. Don't even worry about it." Leah waved it off, making it known that she wouldn't be going into it.

I replayed the scene over and over again in my head, trying to determine what had caused the girls to react to each other the way they had, but their reactions seemed to be both simultaneous and automatic. As far as I could tell they hadn't actually touched one another at all. They must know each other, I realized. Based on their reactions, to say that they didn't like each other might've been the understatement of understatements. They'd appeared to be ready to out right kill one another. And what was up with the looks the sprite had given me? I wondered.

We walked the rest of the way to the parking garage in silence, the tension rolling off Leah in waves. I decided not to press the issue, at least not at the moment. I filed the entire ordeal away in the back of my mind, but knew that I'd be bringing it up again. Maybe Jacob would know something about the dark-haired, pixie-like girl called Alice, I thought.

Leah wordlessly assured me that she was in no mood for conversation by turning the radio on and the volume up loud enough to discourage any attempts on my behalf. She'd borrowed her father's dark green, Ford F150 for the day, claiming a total lack of faith in my old truck surviving the trip.

Too exhausted to offer up anything more than a weary sigh, I let my head fall back against the cool, leather headrest and closed my eyes. In spite of Leah's pounding music, and the discernible tension in the air, I fell asleep before we got back onto the highway.

I woke back up as Leah was putting the truck in park in front of Charlie's house. It was almost midnight and we were both worn out. We left our packages in the truck and dragged ourselves into the house. We leaned on each other for support, as we made our way up the stairs to my room. I kicked my shoes off and flopped onto the bed fully clothed. It seemed to take every ounce of energy I could muster, to push myself up the bed to my pillow.

"Lee-Lee," I whispered, and patted the bed beside me. "No energy. Sleep here," I muttered, trying to stay awake a minute longer. I felt the mattress dip under her weight as she climbed into bed beside me.

I laid my head on her shoulder, hoping she wasn't still angry about the run-in she'd had with the girl in Seattle. "Hey Lee," I whispered.

"Yeah Bells?" she muttered sleepily.

"Remind me not to piss you off," I said quietly, turning onto my other side. "You're a scary bitch when you wanna be."

The bed shook with her laughter and I felt her lean over to give me a quick hug. She muttered something under her breath, but I didn't understand her words. I meant to ask her, but sleep reclaimed me before I found the words.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

When I opened my eyes again the alarm clock said it was 7:13. Charlie had already left for work and other than the sounds of Leah snoring softly beside me the house was silent. I stretched and pushed myself up and out of bed. I grabbed some fresh clothes and my bag of toiletries and set off for the bathroom and the promise of a hot shower.

I emerged from the bathroom feeling refreshed and revived from the previous days overdose of shopping. I traipsed down the stairs and into the kitchen and started a fresh pot of coffee. While it was brewing I grabbed Leah's keys from the table by the door and headed out to the truck to retrieve our packages.

Three trips in and out later, I closed the front door and stared down at the mountain of packages in front of me in total disbelief. _Over-indulge much?_ The little voice in the back of my head asked indignantly. Granted, over half of the bags were Leah's; but I had never indulged myself so much before, and I felt a momentary pang of guilt at having done so.

Truth be told, I'd never had the opportunity to do anything like that before. When it was just Renee and I, money was always tight. I couldn't remember lacking for anything, but there were certainly no luxuries around either. Once Phil moved in things were a little better, but he was struggling himself. It wasn't until their recent move to Jacksonville and Phil's new coaching job that they were able to do anything more than just get by.

By the time Leah got up and stumbled into the bathroom to shower, I'd already separated our bags into piles of hers and mine, cleaned the kitchen and dusted the living room. I was snuggled into the couch with my tattered copy of Wuthering Heights when she came bouncing down the stairs looking like her shower had done her as much good as mine had. She winked at me and walked into the kitchen where she helped herself to a cup of coffee and a granola bar.

We spent the day lazing around in front of the television. We had a mini John Hughes film fest, laughed our butts off, and ate Charlie out of popcorn and ice cream. She ended up hanging out until shortly after Charlie got home from work. I helped her carry her bags back to her dad's truck and hugged her neck before she climbed in after them.

"See ya tomorrow," she reminded me as she started the truck.

"Yup, nine o'clock at Sam and Emily's right?" I verified.

She nodded and pulled away from the curb with a wave and a quick honk of her horn.

I watched her pull off and stared after the truck until it disappeared from view. As I turned to head back inside, so I could get Charlie's dinner on the table, I noticed a very sleek looking canary yellow sports car driving by at a snail's pace. I didn't know anyone in Forks could afford such a snazzy car, and as I turned to watch it slowly drive past it suddenly sped up and disappeared down the road in the same direction Leah had taken off in.

The windows were tinted so dark that I couldn't possibility see inside of it, and it struck me as odd that I even cared to. With one last look in the direction the yellow sports car had disappeared in, I shrugged my shoulders and went back inside the house.

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A/N2: Thanks for reading! Now hit the little button and tell me what ya think!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Yay it hasn't been a month! :P This is the second longest chapter yet, and I almost let it run longer; but I really wanted to get it posted, so I stopped myself.  
As always, SM owns all things Twilight.**

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**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Nine:

Jacob I couldn't believe I'd let so much time slip past me. How many chances had I had to talk to Bella? How many times had I blown it and chickened out? I was pretty sure that she was interested in me too. Hell, even Embry said that out of all of us she seemed closest to Leah and I; that was a good sign right? So why did my nuts shrivel up and crawl inside me every time I tried to approach her?

I saw her almost every day, and almost every day I swore to myself that 'today would be the day'; before I lost my nerve or lost my chance… once I even lost my lunch. Yeah, that was disgusting; it didn't do much for my confidence either. As a matter of fact, me asking Bella out and her saying yes were the only things left to do to make this, without a doubt, the best summer ever.

I couldn't understand it; I mean this was Bella we're talkin' about. She was probably one of the most down-to-earth girls I'd ever known. She was so easy to talk to, unless I wanted to talk to her about 'us'. Then I became a nervous, sweating, blubbering baboon. I couldn't form full sentences. Hell, sometimes I couldn't so much as form words. Every time I tried my heart would pound, my sweat glands would go into overdrive, my tongue would get thick and stick to the top of my mouth and my brain would just shut down.

Somehow the whole summer had gone by and I still hadn't talked to her about 'us'. I knew I was running out of time. Bella's smart, funny and absolutely gorgeous; there's no way she'll be at Forks High long without getting snatched up. The idea of Bella with any of those cock-knocks was more than I could stand; and to think that I'd have to be there everyday to watch them together.

Yup, no matter what, I knew I had to talk to her at some point over the weekend. I couldn't wait too long and then spend forever wondering 'what if...'

Just then Embry interrupted my daydreams by slamming through the front door.

"S'up Jake?" he asked, plopping down beside me on the couch. "You all set?"

I nodded and gestured toward the backpack sitting next to the front door. It was our last hurrah for the summer, and we were trying to go out with a bang. Quil, Embry, Bella, Leah and I were going camping for the weekend. We had a tent and most of our gear loaded up in the back of Leah's dad's truck, although we were planning to sleep under the stars if the weather permitted. The tent mainly gave the girls a place to change clothes; but we'd all pile into it before we slept in the rain.

We were planning to camp out at Lake Crescent and hike along the Spruce Railroad Trail. It was absolutely beautiful out there and I knew its beauty wouldn't be wasted on Bella. She had a real appreciation of the simple things. Just one of a million things I loved about her. Yeah, yeah… Color me sappy right? Whatever. Saturday we were going to Marymere Falls. It's only about a mile or so south of the lake so it'd be a pretty easy hike and there was no way Bella was gonna miss that.

"Earth to Jake!" Embry yelled, again interrupting my thoughts of the upcoming weekend with Bells.

"What?" I yelled back, annoyed.

"Dude. Where were you? I asked like three times if you were ready to go. Quil's probably already at Leah's and the girls should be there soon."

"Sure, sure," I answered, feeling more than a little guilty for snapping at him.

I grabbed my pack from next to the door and we left. Embry had dropped his pack outside the door, and he lugged it up onto his shoulders as we set off for the Clearwater's.

"So," Embry chatted as we walked, "you ready for Forks High?"

I shrugged, "Yeah I guess. I mean it's just a school."

"It's not just a school Jake," he said with a big grin. "It's a whole school full of girls that have never turned me down before! And we'll be 'the new kids' instead of being with the same people that remember the shit we did in our elementary days," he said with a shudder; apparently remembering a particularly embarrassing moment from his past. "I for one am going to take full advantage of being the tall, dark and handsome new guy on campus.

I couldn't hold back the laugh. I lunged at him unexpectedly, put him in a headlock, and gave him a noogie. "Who the hell ever told you that you were handsome?" I teased. "If they were talking about the tall, dark, and handsome stranger, I think we both know they'd be talkin' about me. Besides, you need to focus Casanova. We're there to keep an eye on Bella, not corrupt the female population."

"Hey," he objected, pulling away from me and trying to straighten out his hair. "I have two eyes. I'll keep one on Bella. I'm not the one everybody's worried about. They're more worried that you'll be too busy trying to win Bella to protect her."

"Bullshit!" I argued. "Sam knows Bella's safety is my number one priority."

Embry snickered and muttered something under his breath; but we we're approaching Leah's house and Quil was waving from the back of Harry Clearwater's truck as he flopped his gear into the bed.

"Jake! Embry!" He called. "You guys ready for some fun?"

We all knuckle bumped and Embry and I added our packs to the rest of the gear. Embry unzipped his pack and showed Quil the fireworks he'd brought along. He was hoping for a Roman Candle fight; but I had a feeling the girls would freak out if we tried it. Quil chuckled and lifted the tent revealing five metal trash can lids. I shook my head and chuckled along with them, knowing he was being insanely optimistic to think that the girls might actually participate; but I figured the girls would help him realize that soon enough.

It wasn't long before we heard Bella and Leah approaching in Bella's old truck. My stomach knotted up before they even came into view. I took a deep breath, stood a little straighter, and made the silent vow to myself. Come hell or high water, I wasn't going to let this weekend pass me by without having a heart to heart with Bella Swan.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Bella

I sighed softly to myself as the lush green landscape rolled by. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as I chanced a sideways glance at my best friend. Where did the time go? The entire summer seemed to have flashed by in a blur; and suddenly, it was the weekend before school started. Leah and I were on our way back from a day in Port Angeles, where we'd stocked up on pens, pencils and all the other mundane necessities for a successful year of high school. She'd spent the majority of the return trip to Forks wordlessly staring out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

In fact, all throughout the afternoon I'd noticed that she was unusually quiet. She seemed distracted, withdrawn; but when I asked her what was wrong she'd say "nothing," force a smile and make it a point to be more like her usual upbeat self until she thought I wasn't paying attention. Something was definitely up with Leah; but I knew better than to try to press her. She'd talk when she was ready; but I hated to see her upset.

I pulled into Charlie's driveway and we carried our purchases into the house. Leah was sleeping over Sunday night so we could get ready for the first day of school together. So we both dropped our bags on the floor in my bedroom.

I was so glad to have Leah and Jacob and even Embry going to school with me; but I was still incredibly nervous about the first day. Grateful barely touched the way I felt with Leah suggested that she sleep over and we ride together. I'd assumed the three of them would carpool in from La Push in Jake's rabbit.

I forced the first day of school jitters from my head and focused on the incredible weekend we had planned. I couldn't wait to get to Crescent Lake and set up camp. Charlie had been shocked to hear me sound the least bit interested in anything outdoorsy; but the gang had really opened my eyes to a lot of the natural beauty that this rather soggy part of the world had to offer.

The tide pools, the hot springs, a seemingly endless number of trails. Leah showed me some pictures she'd taken during the spring of some of the most beautiful flora I'd ever seen. We'd hiked parts of Olympic Discovery Trail; we even hiked out to Michael's Cabin. There was so much more to the area than I'd ever cared to notice on prior visits.

We were camping at Crescent Lake. We'd hiked passed it several times, and it was a beautiful location; we'd just never spent much time there. There were several small waterfalls nearby and one that Jacob had been especially adamant about us getting to, Marymere Falls I think he'd called it. We were going to have a bonfire and roast marshmallows; and if not for it being the end of the summer, I'd be willing to say it was going to be the perfect weekend.

My backpack was ready and waiting by the bedroom door. I grabbed it and made my way down to the kitchen to grab the cooler from the refrigerator. I'd filled it the night before so that it'd be ready for me to grab it and go. Leah joined me and I gestured for her to grab the extra case of water from the kitchen table.

Leah was considerably more animated during the drive to La Push. As much as I wanted to know what was wrong with her I wasn't willing to risk her improved mood by bringing it up again.

It was just after four when we pulled up in front of Leah's to find the boys ready and waiting for us. She hopped out and ran inside to get her pack and the cooler of sandwiches and bag full of snacks that she'd packed the night before.

Jacob was at my door before I could even climb out of the truck. He beamed me a warm smile as he helped me down. "Heya Bells," he said, his voice unusually husky, before grabbing both the cooler and my backpack out of my hands and tossing them into the back of the truck.

Leah was back out a moment later and she added her stuff to the back of my truck before climbing into her dad's. Jake grabbed his pack from Leah's truck and added it to mine. He exchanged words with Quil and Embry who ambled off toward Leah's truck as he swung himself into the front of mine. Leah backed away from her house and I fell in behind her as we set off for our weekend.

We stopped at a little mini mart on the reservation for a few last minute supplies; and moments later I was following Leah down the 110 toward Hwy 101. Jacob spent half the trip fiddling with the radio and cursing its inability to clearly pick up anything other than a country and western station. When he finally gave up he flopped back against the back of the seat with a huff, shooting death glares at the poor defenseless stereo. I chuckled and started chattering mindlessly about how much I was looking forward to the weekend in an effort to cheer him up.

It was a little before six when I parked next to Leah. We all piled out of the trucks and Jake grabbed both of our backpacks before heading over to the other truck to grab the bag that the tent was in. Leah grabbed her pack and her cooler and Quil and Embry finished unloading Leah's truck; leaving me with nothing but a cooler to carry. I glanced around guiltily at the sheer amount of stuff that the boy's were carrying and cringed. Embry had his pack strapped to his back and a large duffle bag in each hand. Quil had his pack, a large bundle of driftwood for our bonfire under one arm, and what looked like trash can lids under the other. Jacob had both of our packs, the tent and a large tarp. I glanced at Leah who just shrugged and set off after the boys to the trail that would lead us to the lake.

The hike to the lake wasn't bad at all; and I only fell down twice along the way, which is pretty good for me. We decided to forego any additional hiking for the day; since the sun was on its way down by the time we got everything set up. Leah got the bonfire lit while the guys hunted us down some sticks; and we roasted hotdogs for our dinner. We spent the rest of the evening laughing and joking and playing silly games like charades.

I was positively exhausted by the time we all spread out our sleeping bags and decided to call it a night.

I awoke Saturday morning before anyone else. The sun was barely lighting up the morning sky; when I fished out my cell phone to check the time, it was 6:20. I crawled out of my sleeping bag and proceeded to roll it back up before quietly sneaking off to take care of my morning business behind some nearby trees.

When I returned to our camp, I sent Charlie a quick text message letting him know that everything was ok and that I'd be home the following afternoon. He wasn't one to persistently press that I check in while I was away on the weekends; but I made it a point to make some sort of contact with him at least once a day. We never officially discussed it, but he seemed to appreciate the gesture.

I added a few sticks to the pile in the fire pit we'd dug for the previous night's campfire and started a new fire. I grabbed a couple bottles of water and emptied them into the silver, camping percolator, and started some coffee. As it brewed, I grabbed my pack and slipped into the tent and changed into my bathing suit and a fresh pair of jean shorts and a clean, yellow, cotton tank top.

I'd just sat down on an old fallen tree with my steaming hot cup of coffee, when Leah sat up sniffing deeply at the air. She looked around sleepily and hummed before asking, "Coffee?" Her voice rough with sleep yet filled with hope. I chuckled and took another sip from my cup, grinning at her mischievously. She gave a harrumph and the previously peaceful morning was suddenly filled with Leah's grumpy groans and incoherent grumbling as she struggled to crawl out of her sleeping bag. I hurried over to the fire pit and poured her a cup of coffee, offering it to her as soon as she managed to fully right herself.

Leah's less than melodious morning noises woke up Quil. Quil, in his preoccupation with hiding his morning 'problem' on his way into the woods, managed to trip over Jake's gigantic frame; gifting him with a rather rude awakening. Quil and Jake decided that since they were awake Embry should be also; and they took it upon themselves to ensure that he was, by dumping half of our ice supply into his sleeping bag. Suffice to say, he didn't exactly wake up happy.

Soon after everyone had their coffee, Leah and I set about cracking eggs, while the guys toasted some bread over the fire. We all sat down and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and chatted about the upcoming school year. I noticed that Quil seemed somber as Embry talked excitedly about going to Forks High; and I felt guilty for taking his friends away from him.

We all enjoyed our simple, leisurely breakfast as we sipped our coffee and talked quietly amongst ourselves. I cleaned up the breakfast mess as the others changed and got ready for our day.

Everyone was in high spirits as we set off on what a signpost declared to be The Moments in Time Nature Trail. Embry pointed out the sheer size of the massive cedars and Douglas Firs, mentioning that some were over two hundred feet tall. We hiked past old homesteads and through the lowland forest; it was one of the most tranquil places I'd ever seen.

We took a connector trail to the Storm King Ranger Station; and then hopped onto yet another trail. This one leading us through a tunnel that actually went under Highway 101 for a ways before opening back up to the forest on the other side. We crossed a couple footbridges and climbed up some earthen steps before coming to a halt at a point where we were forced to decide between an easier route, and a steeper but more direct route.

Jake laughed and grabbed my wrist, tugging me after him as he started on the path marked as the easier of the two. "We've been lucky enough that Bells hasn't tripped and broken something so far, no point pushin' our luck," he teased.

I huffed in my best attempt at indignation and swatted him on his huge bicep. The others joined in his laughter and exchanged snarky remarks about my coordination. I felt my cheeks flush at their teasing. I pointedly refrained from comment, clutching Jacob's elbow and keeping my gaze locked on the ground directly in front of my feet, silently praying that I not trip in the midst of their torment; timing like that wouldn't be let go easily, and I knew it.

Jake squeezed my hand and smiled down at me. "This way has the best view too," he murmured softly as we started up the gentle slope to the observation area at the base of the falls.

It was breathtaking. The enormous trees on either side beautifully framed the ninety-foot cascade of water. A light, cool mist filled the air and dampened our clothes. Without thinking, I leaned against Jacob and sighed contentedly, mesmerized by the beauty that surrounded us. The water fell from above with a rush of sound and rainbows into what Quil identified as, Barnes Creek. Big beautiful sword fern dotted the creek banks at random.

Jake wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders. He leaned down and whispered into my ear, "It's pretty nice here huh?"

I shuddered at the contrast between his very warm breath on my neck and ear and the moist, almost chilly air. Still awestruck by the natural beauty all around me, my voice wasn't much more than a whisper when I responded. "Jake it's… so beautiful, so incredibly peaceful. I… I just can't seem to find words to do it justice!"

He chuckled softly and pulled me closer to him. "You don't always need the right words Bells. Sometimes, it's enough to see it, feel it and appreciate it."

I looked up into his dark eyes and was a little surprised at what I saw there. There was a fire in them that I'd never saw before. I looked away quickly, feeling more than a little self conscious under his smoldering gaze.

I looked around for the others, but they were nowhere to be seen. "Hey," I said suddenly, desperately needing to break the strange tension that surrounded Jake and I. "I think we got abandoned."

He looked away then and craned his neck in an attempt to locate his friends. "Quil really likes the upper observation deck. I think it has something to do with him being the shortest in the pack," he chuckled, "can't resist a rare shot at looking down at someone else."

I scrunched up my brow, "shortest in the pack?" I asked giggling. "What? Is that like, Quileute for clique or something?"

Jake's eyes widened and for a split second I swore I saw panic in them. The look was gone as quickly as it came; in its place was a tight smile as he laughed lightly and nodded. "Let's uh, let's go find the others," he mumbled. His arm left me shoulders and he took my hand in his, towing me along behind him as we headed up the steep earthen steps that connected the upper and lower observation decks.

We met up with the others on the upper deck and the view from above was gorgeous; but I had to agree with Jacob, I preferred the almost surrealistic view from below. We had lunch on the upper deck before starting our descent. After another hour or so we made our way back to Barnes Point where we spent the rest of the afternoon.

By the time we got back to camp I was exhausted. Leah stepped into the tent to change out of her sweaty clothes. I plopped down on my sleeping bag to wait my turn to change; and leaned back staring up at the quickly darkening sky.

The next thing I knew Jake was gently shaking me and asking if I was going to eat. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and trying to take in my surroundings. I could hear Quil was tearing into a bag of Doritos as Leah and Embry plated hamburgers.

I stretched and took Jake's extended hand, allowing him to pull me to my feet. When he released me I stumbled backwards a step or two. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders again to steady me.

"You ok there?" He asked through his good-natured laughter.

I nodded and took a step away from him, testing my balance. "I didn't mean to go to sleep," I mumbled apologetically.

"No worries, you were obviously beat," he said, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm sure you'll feel better now that you've had a little nap."

"How long did I sleep?" I asked, still feeling groggy.

"Only about a half hour or so; just long enough for us to get the grub goin'."

We sat around the fire pit, laughing, eating and enjoying our final hours of freedom. When the food was gone, Embry and Quil appeared to be plotting and planning. I had no idea what they were up to, but knowing the two of them it was probably mischievous. It was with this thought in mind that I accepted Jake's hand and allowed myself to be towed along behind him toward the water's edge.

The moon was high in the sky by then; and its reflection was eerily beautiful as it was captured and distorted by the rippling surface of the glacial water. Jake and I walked in silence for several moments, staying near the water at first; but then he pulled me toward what appeared to be a faint path. After a minute, we came across an enormous toppled cedar; and Jake sat down, gently tugging on my hand to pull me down next to him.

I realized then that this wasn't just a casual evening walk. Jacob had something to say. I prepared myself for some speech about the importance of checking in with him or one of the other's during the day while we were at school. Or maybe he'd want us to all ride together and he wanted to see if that was ok with me.

He cleared his throat and looked everywhere but at me. He suddenly seemed nervous; and Jacob Black was anything but nervous. There was no way I could've prepared myself for what he did say…

"So uh Bells…" he started quietly. "I uh… I was thinkin'… Err I mean… Shit!"

"Jake?" I questioned curiously. Things had always been so easy between Jacob and I, from the very beginning. I didn't understand what had him so flustered.

"Please Bells," he pleaded, "just give me a second. I'm uh… I'm trying to find the words ya know?"

I nodded and offered him a small, but hopefully reassuring smile. I had no idea what he needed to say, but whatever it was, the least I could do was allow him a moment to compose his thoughts.

Several silent moments passed as we sat there. Finally, he took a deep breath and spun around to face me. His eyes blazed as the moonlight shone in them. He reached forward and took both of my hands in his. I studied his face, trying to figure out what was so obviously troubling him.

"Bells," he said, his deep voice almost quivering with his nerves. "I- I really like you Bells. Not like the rest of the guys either, I mean I **really** like you, like a… like a boyfriend. I know you haven't been here very long; but it feels like I've always known you, always cared about you. And I… Well, I kinda got the impression that maybe you… uh… maybe you like me to?"

Oh. My. God. I felt the blood rushing to my face as soon as he said he really liked me. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was having a little trouble pulling in enough air. Leah was right. What had I done? Had I led him on? There was no doubt in my mind that I loved Jacob Black; and I also knew that he loved me too. I just didn't realize that we were dealing with two totally different types of love.

How do you break your best friend's heart? I felt tears stinging my eyes and I desperately wanted to just get up and run. Run away from the devotion I saw in Jake's eyes, away from the hurtful truth that he was going to force out of me.

"Bells?" Jake questioned after several minutes passed without a response from me.

"Jacob." I took a shaky breath. "Please listen to me ok? Don't speak, don't act, hell don't even think until you hear me out ok?"

He solemnly nodded his acquiescence as he stared at me expectantly.

"I love you Jake," I whispered, "but I'm afraid we got our wires crossed or something. Ever since I showed up here you've looked out for me; you've been there for me and made me feel safe when I didn't think I'd ever feel that way again. I've uh… I've kind of come to think of you as my big brother and my best friend."

I watched his face fall at my confession and I cursed myself for hurting him. "Jake you have to know how much you mean to me. I don't think I would've made it through the summer without you! I DO love you; just in a different way than you seem to care about me. Please don't be mad at me," I pleaded with him, "your friendship means the world to me Jacob. If I've ever done anything to lead you on or-"

"It's ok Bells," Jake cut in, his voice devoid of its usual life. "You've never done anything at all, other than be the perfect girl, and well… I can't really hold that against you can I?" He asked, chuckling humorlessly.

"Jake…"

"Really it's fine," he cut me off again, "we should probably get back to camp before the others start to worry."

I nodded and followed him back the way we came. When we arrived, Embry and Quil were each holding a garbage can lid and appeared to be trying to shoot each other with Roman Candles, much to Leah's disapproval.

"Bella!" She called out as she saw us approach. "Thank God! Maybe you can talk some sense into these morons! Imagine trying to hold on to lit fireworks and shoot them at your friend? What kind of ridiculous testosterone fueled game is that?"

I smiled weakly at Leah and shrugged my shoulders, unrolling my sleeping bag before turning to face the boys.

"Guys," I called out to Quil and Embry, "could we skip the fireworks please? I have a monster of a headache and I think I need to just give up, call it a day, and hope I can sleep it off."

They agreed, albeit reluctantly; and I slid into my sleeping bag. I tried to hold off the tears, but there was just too many of them. I slid further down into the bag and wept silently, until the tears stopped coming and I was able to fall into the warm embrace of sleep.

Sunday morning, we packed everything up as soon as we finished breakfast. I still felt terrible about Jake; but he wouldn't talk to me. Once the gear was all stowed in the back of the trucks, Leah handed her father's keys to Embry so he could return the truck for her. The three guys were all standing around Harry's truck. Jacob stood near the tailgate, securing their gear under a green tarp.

I cautiously approached him; feeling awkward around him for the first time since moving to Forks. "Jake?" I started nervously.

I heard him inhale sharply right before he spun around to face me. "Look, Bella, I get it ok. What do you want? You wanna hear it's not your fault? It's not your fault, I'm sure you weren't **planning** on shattering my fucking heart, right? Just worked out that way."

"But Jaco-"

"What I DON'T need is your pity over it ok?" he fumed, cutting me off. "It's fine. Just back off a little and give me some space, PLEASE," he pleaded, his voice softening; though hurt and anger were both still evident in his tone.

I fought back the tears I felt threatening to spill from my eyes and nodded at Jacob without another word.

He climbed into the truck with Embry and Quil; and I returned to my truck where Leah was waiting.

They followed us to Charlie's house where Jake climbed out of the truck just long enough to remind Leah and I to meet him and Embry at the front office of Forks High School the following morning. He directed his words to Leah, not looking at me at all. She nodded her agreement as I grabbed my stuff, from the back of my truck, and ran to the sanctity of the house.

I ran up the stairs, threw myself on the bed, and cried. I heard Leah come in and make her way up the stairs several minutes later.

"Bella? Hey… Bella! Oh honey, what's the matter?" she asked, soothingly stroking my hair.

I just shook my head and kept crying. She gathered me up in her arms, and pulled me into her lap, gently rocking me back and forth as she whispered reassurances in my ear.

Once I'd cried myself out, she lifted my chin, forcing me to meet her gaze. "Hey, you ok now?"

"I… I think so," I stammered.

"Ok, so now you need to tell me what the hell that was about."

And I did.

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A/N2: OK, I have part of ten started already. See that little green button? Says REVIEW I'm willing to offer up a teaser for everybody that does. C'mon! Love it? Hate it? Lemme know!  
Thanks. ~Sonia


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: OK, I want to start off saying thanks to each and every one of you for reading, and for your reviews. To say that they make my day is one helluv an understatement. Thank you. I had hoped to have this up on Friday before I took off for Florida for the weekend; but obviously, that didn't happen. I did have it finished, but since I don't have a beta I try to proofread everything three or four times before I post it; and even then I know I don't catch everything. Seems like my brain knows what I meant to write and therefore I tend to read right over my mistakes without realizing it... Most of this was proofed at the airport last night in Charlotte and I only slept five hours all weekend, so I ask that you forgive me if there's a few more mistakes than usual. Anyhoo, here we go - the first day of school. All twenty-seven pages of it. My longest chapter ever.

Sad fact, SM still owns all things Twilight.

* * *

**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Ten:

Leah

I snuck a sideways glance at Bells and was torn between snickering at her and wrapping her into a sympathetic hug. She was a nervous wreck. She had been since she tripped out of bed at 4:45 this morning. She was straddling the line for a full on meltdown before we even managed to get downstairs for breakfast.

"What if everybody hates me?" she'd muttered earlier from her bed, with her face burrowed in her pillow.

"Then fuck the whole lot of 'em. You know **we** love ya;" I'd replied simply.

"Are Embry and Quil betting on how many times I face-plant today?" she'd grumbled.

"Nope," I lied. Technically, they hadn't said anything specifically about her face planting, but they did have ten bucks on how many times she embarrassed the hell out of herself. I decided she'd be ok without that little bit of knowledge. "You'll be fine Bells," I'd promised her before pulling her up off the bed and shoving her into the bathroom to shower.

She was turning into the parking lot of Forks High School, her knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard, and we hadn't spoken a word since we'd left her house. I reached out to give her shoulder a reassuring pat and repeated my sentiment from earlier, "You'll be fine Bells."

She pulled into a parking spot close to the tiny building marked "Front Office" and shut off the Chevy's roaring engine. She inhaled deeply before turning to me with a tight smile. We had almost an hour before the bell rang, so the parking lot was close to empty. We needed to meet with the guys, get our schedules and compare them and all that shit before the day actually got started.

"Bella," she looked downright timid when she looked over at me. "Listen to me. You are gorgeous. You are smart. You are one of the sweetest, most down-to-earth, most **worth-knowing** people I've ever met. Please stop freaking out. Some of them will love you even if you fall flat on your face. Some of them will hate you in spite of you being an amazing person. Some of them won't give a shit one way or the other. Don't stress it; just remember to breathe and you'll be fine." With that I opened the passenger door and hopped out of the truck, grabbing my book bag and slinging it over my shoulders as I closed the door. I walked around to Bella's side and opened her door for her knowing that if I waited for her to get out on her own we'd be there all week. She grabbed her bag and reluctantly dropped down out of the truck. I shut the door and as I turned to walk away I found myself wrapped in Bella's embrace.

"Thanks Leah," she whispered as I hugged her back; "I don't know what I'd do without you."

I heard Jake's Rabbit pulling into the lot and realized there was another way that I could ease Bella's nerves today. "Hey Bells, I need to chat with the guys a minute. Would you mind going on ahead? I'll be in there in a few."

She nodded and traipsed off, disappearing into the building just before Jake parked his battered piece of shit next to hers. He and Embry both got out and joined me in front of Bella's truck.

I noticed Jake anxiously looking around, presumably for Bella. "Hey Embers, I need to talk to our brother a second. Bella's in the office doing the sign up thing, how 'bout you go join her?"

Embry looked from me to Jake curiously for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and strutting off toward the office. Once he was inside I embraced the rage I'd felt the night before as I tried for hours to soothe Bella, and I spun to face Jake.

"Jacob Ephraim Black!" His eyes widened at the force of my voice. "What the fuck kind of stupid shit did your dumb ass pull yesterday? Are you really that god damn dense?" I inhaled deeply and counted to ten before exhaling in an effort to calm myself down. I could feel the vibrations threatening to overtake me, and no matter how badly I wanted to phase and rip a couple of his limbs off and shove them up his ass, I knew I had to keep myself in check.

"First of all, she's barely been in Forks for three months. Second, the only fucking reason she's here is because her **last** boyfriend is a bloodsucking psycho who wants to kill her. Remember? Do you **really** think she's ready to jump into a relationship with the first guy that doesn't want her dead? I mean really, how clueless are you?"

"But… Lee-Lee…"

"Don't you **dare** 'but Lee-Lee' me! I'm not **even close** to being done with you." I took another deep breath and with a huge effort, I was able to bring my voice back down to a reasonable level. "I get that you like her Jake, I really do. I can't believe how blind that girl can be sometimes, but what you pulled… that was wrong. You dump your feelings on her and then get pissed off because she doesn't see you the same way? How fair is that? How could you treat her like that? Let me remind you, that girl doesn't owe you shit. You are here to protect her, and if I think for a half a second that you're not giving it your all, I'll call Sam and he will have you outta here faster than you can say, 'Leah whooped my ass.' Put your personal feelings aside and get on task; and if you're anything less than wonderful to Bella I **will** whoop upon your ass. I don't wanna hear another fucking word about it. If you understand you nod, we go to the office and get this show on the road. If you don't understand, get in your car and take your ass back home."

I glared at him impatiently and watched the flurry of emotions pass across his face. He was pissed; he didn't like being put in his place, especially not by me. It had to be done though, and I think he realized that because in the end he just nodded and walked toward the doors Bella and Embry had previously passed through. I sighed and followed Jacob into the office.

Twenty minutes later, we were all huddled around the hood of Jake's Rabbit comparing schedules. The only downside to being a senior was that I'd only actually be with Bella during lunchtime. We had Bella's schedule laid out in the middle, and we were checking Jake's and Embry's against it.

Bella was on her own for homeroom. She had English Lit first period with Embry and US History second period with both Embry and Jake. She was on her own again for her third period French class and then we'd all hook up for lunch. After lunch she was yet again on her own in her fourth period Biology class before joining Embry for Calculus fifth period and Jake for Gym at the end of the day.

We went over the school map and compared class locations. We marked which rooms each of us were in for each class period and even marked where we'd decided to meet for lunch. By the time we were finished going over the map and our schedules, the parking lot was more than half full. I gave Jake a meaningful look and then nodded toward Bella. He grimaced but nodded before turning to Bella and quietly asking her to take a walk with him before homeroom. She glanced up at me and I shrugged, trying to look clueless. She knew better, but said nothing as she followed Jake across the parking lot and away from the school.

Embry looked from them to me curiously, appearing to debate whether or not he should ask. He settled with a nod in Jake and Bella's direction and a casual, "so, they ok?"

I shrugged. "I suppose. Fortunately for Jake, Bella borders sainthood in both forgiveness and patience. **He** blows up at **her** and **she's** feeling all guilty about hurting **his** feelings. I mean… only Bella right?" I chuckled shaking my head.

"Yeah," he agreed, laughing, "only Bella." He shouldered his backpack and glanced toward the woods that surrounded the campus on three sides.

Jacob and Bella could be seen just beyond the tree line. They were standing close together and obviously engrossed in conversation. I'd secretly hoped that the two of them would end up together. If Jake would just back off and give her some more time… She was obviously drawn to him, she just didn't recognize it, and I didn't think she was ready for it. When he offered her his hand, her hand seemed to just migrate into it. When he slung his arm around her shoulders, her arm automatically went around his waist. The two of them seemed so natural together, so right for each other. I refused to let go of my hope. She needed him to be her friend right now; the rest would have to wait.

"Oh," Embry cut in to my thoughts, "Sam wanted me to make sure we all had our speed dials set up. You get yours and Bella's programmed?"

"Yeah," I smirked, "last week."

He grinned and checked the time on his phone before glancing off toward the missing duo again.

I started to comment when a flash of silver caught my eye from halfway across the parking lot. Standing out like a sore thumb against the rest of the vehicles in the lot a sleek, shiny, silver Volvo quickly pulled into a parking space. A cherry red, BMW M3 pulled up alongside the Volvo and parked barely a second later. There'd been a light rain this morning, the remnants forcing the driver to keep the top up.

I shuddered and I swear every little hair on my body was suddenly standing on end as the doors to both vehicles opened almost simultaneously. The damp morning breeze picked up momentarily and I was assaulted by the most disgustingly sweet stench. I recognized the smell immediately, vampires. One, two three, four, five vampires!

I heard a low growl emanating from Embry at the same time that I realized I was visibly trembling. The bloodsuckers must've heard him too because they all stopped abruptly, staring at us in shock and disbelief. I recognized the smallest as one of the females from Seattle. I hadn't seen the second female; I'd just caught her scent in the dressing room. As soon as I'd realized that she wasn't alone, I'd literally thrown some bills at the cashier, waved the jeans at her and ran outside to Bella.

Wait a minute. Why would the same vampires from Seattle even be here in Forks? And what the hell were they doing at Forks High School? Something was nagging at me, some half realization begging to be brought fully to life. Then it dawned on me, **five** vampires. Didn't Bells say her ex ran with four others? Fuck.

"Embry," I spoke quietly, "go to Jacob and Bella. Don't let either of them leave the woods yet. If anything happens get'em the hell outta here. Once you're with them, give Sam a call."

"Leah…" Embry started, I knew he was going to object. He didn't want to leave me here alone, especially not with five leeches staring me down. If this **was** James and his coven, we had to keep Bella out of their sight.

"God damn it, Embry!" I cursed, "Go. Keep Bella safe or I will personally rip your throat out."

He muttered something under his breath, I was only able to make out the words bossy and bitch, but he started backing off in the direction Jake and Bella had walked off in.

The rest of the student body walked around us, excited conversations buzzing over the first day of school, totally oblivious to the vampire/werewolf stand-off taking place right under their noses.

I returned my full attention to the bloodsuckers, wishing desperately that I could better remember the picture Forks' finest had sketched of James. I remembered Bella saying he was tall and blond, and there was a tall blond standing amidst these bloodsuckers. I was also pretty sure that she'd mentioned two other males and two females. That part seemed to fit this group also.

My hands were shaking so much I couldn't force them to be still. I was trying to measure my breaths and I kept clenching and relaxing my fists in an attempt to release some of the tension. I **needed** to phase, needed to go wolf and rip each and every one of them to shreds, but I couldn't exactly do that in the middle of the Forks High School parking lot. I knew that if I stayed there much longer I would lose control. I hadn't felt that way since back before I'd first mastered the art of phasing.

I tried to memorize their faces so I could describe them to Sam. In addition to the tiny female I'd encountered outside of the shop in Seattle, there was a tall leggy blond. She put out the vibe that she was her own biggest fan. The tall, slender, blond that I assumed to be James had wavy hair that hung just off his shoulders and an almost pained expression on his face. His arm was protectively clutching the tiny, dark-haired girl. Next to the leggy blond bimbo was an enormous bear-looking vamp. He had short wavy dark hair and an almost child-like grin on his face, complete with two big dimples. Who the hell ever heard of bloodsuckers with dimples? The final leech I settled on had the strangest hair I'd ever seen. It was a copper-color, and it almost looked like he had a near fatal case of bed-head. He was tall like the other males, though not nearly as tall as the bear.

I decided I had to get to the others, get Bella to safety, and then take care of these filthy fucks once and for all. Just as that thought passed through my mind the coppery headed leech took a step toward me, his expression suddenly fierce. The other two males grabbed at him, and I took that as a sign to make my exit. I followed Embry's example and began my retreat backwards. I didn't dare take my eyes off the bloodsuckers until I was a couple hundred feet away at which point I turned and ran as fast as two feet could carry me. The first warning bell of the day rang as my feet left the concrete. I turned around quickly, half expecting them to be following me but instead, seeing them splitting up and heading into different buildings. _Going to class?_ I wondered. _Or hunting for our Bella?_

"C'mon guys! You're gonna make me late to class! PLEASE don't make me walk in there late!" Bella's frantic whining caught my attention and I quickly jogged the remaining distance to find both Jake and Embry carefully restraining her.

"Leah!" She gushed, relief evident in her voice; "PLEASE tell them to let me go so I can get to class. You KNOW that if I walk in late I'll get nervous and trip over my own feet and make a complete ass of myself in front of the entire class."

It was sad, but odds are she was making a pretty accurate prediction. I put a hand on her shoulder in a soothing gesture, "Give me one minute Bells, and I'll walk you to class ok? I'll escort you all the way to your seat if you want me to." I turned my gaze to Embry, "Can I talk to you for one minute, Embers?"

He released his hold on Bella, leaving her in Jake's strong hands, and followed me deeper into the woods. "You caught their scent too?" I asked, knowing full well he had.

"Yeah, but what the hell are they doin' here?" he asked.

"I don't know, kind of looked like they were heading to class. You realize there are five of them? One could be James, but I don't remember much of her description of him. Call Sam tell him what we saw and see what he wants us to do. In the meantime I'll take Bells to homeroom and wait outside her door until the bell rings. We'll meet you back here before first period, unless Sam wants her outta here, if so come get us. Got it?"

He nodded and we quickly rejoined Jake and Bella. He had his arms wrapped around her middle and she was quietly leaning against him. I found myself grinning in spite of the current drama; there was still hope for them yet.

"Ready to get to homeroom Bells?" I asked, trying to force my voice to sound as casual as possible.

She nodded and slipped out of Jake's arms and hooking her arm in mine. I gave her a reassuring smile as we strolled across the parking lot. We headed into Building Two and I walked inside the classroom door with her as the tardy bell rang. I gave her arm an encouraging squeeze before releasing her to take the last three steps to the teacher's desk on her own. A quick glance around the classroom and a taste of the air assured me that the only threat to Bella's safety was Bella herself. Satisfied, I turned and stepped out of the classroom. I staked claim to a piece of wall across the hallway and casually leaned against it, silently cursing the clocks and urging the bell to ring.

It wasn't even really homeroom. It was a five-minute advisory period, but the second hand on the large black clock hanging at the end of the hall seemed to be mocking me. I could've sworn it went backwards on more than one occasion. When the bell finally rang, yes an agonizing five minutes later, I straightened up and stepped forward just as the door burst open and Bella's classmates started stampeding out. She, of course, was one of the last to come out.

I grabbed her arm, weaving it through mine again and pulled her toward the exit as quickly as possible without outright dragging her. I realized I needed to talk to Embry and Jacob without freaking Bella out, and I couldn't very well do that if she were with us. So, on a whim, I asked Bella where her first period class was.

She reached into the back pocket of her jeans with her free hand and shook her schedule out as we walked. "English Lit… Building three, Room three-eleven," she informed me.

I nodded and pulled her toward Building Three, my plan taking shape as we walked. I'd make sure she was safely in her classroom and then I'd run back and see what Embry found out. He was supposed to be in there with her and as soon as he told me everything he knew I'd send him back to join her.

"Try to save Embry a seat Bells," I instructed her. "He'll probably be late," I added, in response to her quirked brow. I rolled my eyes indicating that it was just typical Embry behavior. She chuckled as we stepped into her classroom. I stopped just inside the door and glanced around nonchalantly. It looked and smelled like a classroom full of humans to me. I noticed that almost half the desks were still empty, but I couldn't stand not knowing what Sam wanted us to do. So as soon as Bella checked in with her teacher I slipped out of the room and took off down the hall.

As soon as I was outside I ran, almost full force, across the lot to the woods where I'd left Jake and Embry. Embry was almost frantically pacing back and forth, and Jacob was snarling into his phone when I arrived. I gave Embry a quizzical look and he paced up to me and stopped. "So?" I asked impatiently.

He took a deep breath before starting. "Well, those aren't our bloodsuckers."

"How do you know?" I demanded.

"Sam said those are the Cullens. You know, the Cullens from the treaty? He knew they were around, but he didn't know they were going to school at Forks High. He and Billy have requested a meeting with their leader to make sure they know what's going on and to stay out of our way."

"So what we're just supposed to carry on and ignore them?" I asked in disbelief, the volume of my voice increasing as I spoke. "Sam really wants us to go to school with a coven of fucking leeches? Why can't we just have Bells go to school on the rez? Damn sure won't be any bloodsuckers for student council there."

"Won't happen," Embry stated.

"I know," I sighed, but I wish it would. "So is that all you've got Embers?" I asked, my thoughts suddenly shifting back to Bella.

"Yeah, at least for now. You want me to head on to class and keep an eye on Bells?" he offered.

"Please," I nodded in agreement. "I told her to save you a seat," I called as he grabbed his pack and took off across the lot at a jog. He waved back over his shoulder, and I watched until he disappeared into Building Three.

I shot Jacob an impatient glare and silently indicated that I wanted to talk to Sam before he ended the call. What the hell was our fearless leader thinking? The whole idea of wolves and vamps in the same building was absurd. Someone, one of them or one of us, would lose it, and Forks High wouldn't know what hit them. Mortal enemies can't just up and decide to play nice. Tearing them to shreds was almost as instinctual as breathing; he **knew** this. I had to talk some sense into him, even if it took me all day.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Bella

"Bells… I was an ass. I admit it and if there was anyway I could take it back I so totally would. You HAVE to believe me. You were open and honest and gentle and all those other good things that make you, you." He chuckled nervously before continuing. "You can't blame me for fallin' for ya, any more than I can blame you for not fallin' for me. I love you Bells and that's probably never gonna change. You love me too and that's enough, even if it's not in the same way. I'll take whatever you can give me and be happy with it."

"Jake! I told you, you don't owe me an apology or anything else. I understand. I do. You put your heart out there and… well I guess I broke it." I threw my arms around his waist, squeezing him as tight as I could. "I'm sorry I hurt you Jacob," I said, my face buried in the bright orange, cotton t-shirt he wore stretched tight against his warm, broad chest.

Embry ran through the trees to join us. "Hey guys!" He called out in what sounded like a forced cheerfulness. "You two good? Did ya kiss and make up and all that stuff?"

I turned in Jacob's arms so that my back was leaning against his front. I smiled up at Embry and gave him a slight nod, and he smiled back.

"Good to hear," he said with a wink. "Oh and Bells? If he acts up again you just let me know. I'll straighten him out for ya." He slugged Jake on the shoulder good-naturedly, and Jake rolled his eyes and joined in our laughter.

"So, where's Leah? Isn't it about time we head to class?" I asked, glancing around for any sign of her.

"She uh… She'll be here in a minute," Embry said.

"If she makes us late to the first class on the first day…" I muttered. I shuddered as my mind suddenly filled with the various 'grand' clumsy entrances I was prone to making, most of which ended with much snickering and me somehow broken or bleeding. _Not today_, I silently prayed.

The shrill ringing of the warning bell pierced through the air just then and I was NOT going to be late to my very first class. I huffed and made to walk away, only to find both Jacob and Embry grabbing for me. Each of them took one of my wrists and while their grip was gentle, there was no questioning the iron-like strength in their hands. I would not be getting away from them by force.

"C'mon guys!" I urged them, quickly switching tactics, "You're gonna make me late to class! PLEASE don't make me walk in there late!" I whined desperately.

A noise to my right caught my attention and Leah stepped into sight. "Leah!" I gushed, "PLEASE tell them to let me go so I can get to class. You KNOW that if I walk in late I'll get nervous and trip over my own feet and make a complete ass of myself in front of the entire class."

She patted me on the shoulder and gave me a look similar to a half-smile. "Give me one minute Bells, and I'll walk you to class ok? I'll escort you all the way to your seat if you want me to." She looked to Embry and asked, "Can I talk to you for one minute Embers?"

He let go of my wrist and the two of them disappeared deeper into the woods. I gave Jake a questioning look and he just shrugged. "I've been right here. You know as much as I do," he said and then pulled me closer to him, resuming our earlier position with my back against his stomach. He leaned down and spoke quietly against my ear, "So, we're cool right? Still friends?"

I nestled as close to him as I could before nodding in response, enjoying the warmth and safety I always felt with him. "Best friends," I whispered.

"Ready to get to homeroom Bells?" Leah asked, surprising me as she and Embry stepped out of the trees.

I nodded and removed myself from Jake's arms before hooking my arm in Leah's. I took a deep breath and she gave me a reassuring smile as we quickly strolled across the parking lot. We headed into Building Two and I was surprised when she walked through classroom door with me. We stepped inside just as the tardy bell rang and she gave my arm a squeeze before letting go.

She left and I stopped at the advisor's desk and had her sign off on my slip and add me to her attendance record. She pointed me toward a desk behind a fair-skinned girl with dark curly hair who immediately spun around in her seat to introduce herself as Jessica Stanley.

"You're Isabella Swan," she told me matter-of-factly. I wondered if she thought I'd be impressed that she knew my name or if she thought I might need to be reminded.

"Bella," I replied automatically. She turned to face the front when Ms. Schmidt, a middle-aged woman with stringy black hair and thick-framed glasses, started reading off from a list of announcements. She wrapped up just as the dismissal bell rang, and Jessica practically pounced on me.

"I have Geometry first, how bout you?" she asked.

"Umm English," I replied, unsure as to why I felt a sudden wave of relief.

"Oh," she said, obviously disappointed. "Well, maybe I'll see you later." And she followed the rest of the students out the door. I shouldered my messenger bag and made my way to the hallway, surprised to find Leah waiting for me.

She grabbed my arm, weaving it through hers and practically dragged me toward the exit. "Where's your first period class?" she asked, seeming rushed and more than a little distracted.

I reached into the back pocket of the snug fitting black skinny jeans Leah had coerced me to wear that morning and pulled out my schedule. "English Lit… Building three, Room three-eleven," I told her.

She nodded and pulled me toward Building Three, "Try to save Embry a seat Bells," she instructed me. I was about to ask her why I'd need to when she added, "He'll probably be late." She rolled her eyes and chuckled as we stepped into the classroom. She stopped just inside the door and glanced around a moment, before spinning on her heel and leaving, presumably heading for her own class.

I stopped at the teacher's desk and handed my slip to Miss Evanston. She was a younger woman. I'd guess her to be in her late twenties. She was tall, with platinum blond hair, kind green eyes and a warm smile. She signed the slip and returned it to me, instructing me to find an empty seat and lay claim to it. I carefully made my way toward the back of the room and took a seat that was surrounded by empty desks. I slipped out of my black hoodie and draped it across the seat to the left of mine, hoping that that would be enough to reserve the seat for Embry.

I sat watching as students continued to trickle into the classroom. A tall, shy looking girl with light brown hair and soft brown eyes smiled warmly as she took the seat to my right. I smiled back and busied myself removing my binder from my bag. I was digging for a pencil when a tap on my desk startled me. I gasped and looked up into the playful blue eyes of the blond-haired boy who'd claimed the seat in front of me.

"Hey," he smiled, "I'm Mike Newton. You must be Isabella."

"Bella," I corrected him, realizing I'd probably be doing a lot of that over the next few days.

"Bella," his smile broadened, "I like it. Very pretty name for a very pretty girl," and he winked at me. He actually winked at me. Ugh.

I felt my cheeks burn as the blush lit across my face. "Thanks," I mumbled uncomfortably, silently wishing he'd turn back around.

Just then, another girl took a seat next to Mike calling for his attention as she quizzed him on his summer. She had silver blond hair and fishy-looking, blue eyes. There were traces of a smirk on her face as she looked past Mike to meet my gaze. She appeared to be happy to have stolen his attention away. I chuckled to myself and wondered if I should send her a thank you card.

The tardy bell rang and Embry was still nowhere to be seen. I glanced at the empty chair next to me and prayed he hadn't already managed to get himself into trouble. He had to be the single most mischievous person I'd ever known. Just as they were finishing up the door flew open and he came strutting into the classroom. He stopped to speak with the teacher before plopping into the seat next to me. He offered me a lazy grin when he met my questioning gaze and mouthed 'got lost' with a shrug.

The rest of the hour passed in a blur of classroom rules and expectations. When the bell rang, I noticed several disappointed looks from our female classmates when Embry took my elbow and led me out of the room. I felt my cheeks burn again as I realized they probably thought we were together.

Our second period US History class was right down the hall from English Lit. Embry seemed to be looking for someone as we walked through the hall, and then I remembered Jacob would be joining us this hour. We walked into the classroom and stopped at the teacher's desk where an older and very wrinkled gentleman, whose nameplate read Dr. Andrews, signed both of our slips and directed us to find a seat 'wherever.'

I followed Embry to the back of the classroom and took a seat directly behind him. He grabbed his binder out of his backpack, and then dropped the pack into the empty seat beside him. I heard a shrill squeal and turned in the direction it came from, only to find Jessica from homeroom bounding across the room.

She cast an appreciative glance in Embry's direction before sliding into the seat next to me. "Bella!' she nearly yelled. "I'm so glad you're here," she beamed.

"Hey Jessica," I smiled weakly in return and then caught sight of Jacob entering the classroom. He winked at me before dropping into his seat with a sigh. He leaned across the aisle and he and Embry spoke in hushed whispers until the tardy bell rang and Dr. Andrews called the class to order.

I chanced a glance at Jessica and found her staring at Jake and Embry, mouth agape. I fought to hold back a giggle when I caught her wiping the corner of her mouth. She was literally drooling over them!

Textbooks and a variety of handouts were distributed and all the while, Jessica ranted, raved and rambled, barely pausing to breathe. Fortunately, the hour seemed to pass rather quickly. When the bell rang I nearly collided with the brick wall that was otherwise known as Jacob Black in my haste to escape Jessica's incessant chattering.

"Whoa, Bells!" he laughed, reaching out to steady me. "Where's the fire?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes and huffed at him. "Ha. Ha," I responded petulantly, barely resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him. "I have to get to French class Jacob," I told him, unable to hide the annoyance in my voice.

"Well, let me walk you," he offered, shouldering his pack and smiling down at me warmly.

"Don't you go in like the opposite direction Jake?" I asked him.

"Well yeah…"

I chuckled, trying to diffuse my growing anger. Why were they babying me all of a sudden anyway? "I'm pretty sure I'll be alright Jacob. In case you've forgotten, I managed ten whole years of school before you guys came into the picture. I think I can find my way to French class."

With that I spun on my heel and stormed off. I knew that they were there to help keep me safe in case James showed up but they'd been smothering me all morning. Unfortunately, my innate clumsiness kicked in just three stomps in to my dramatic departure. My right foot flew right out from under me and I felt myself falling backwards. I readied myself to hit the floor, expecting the hallway to burst in laughter around me but instead I felt Jacob's arms quickly wind around my waist.

He breathed out a chuckle as he pulled me against him, giving me a moment to regain my nearly handicapped sense of balance. "What are we gonna do with you Bells?" He asked quietly.

I slipped out of his grasp and took a deep breath, willing the blood to leave my burning cheeks. "I'll see you at lunch, ok Jake?"

He grinned, obviously still amused at my near inability to walk and waved as I turned to hurry off toward Building Four. I walked as quickly as I dared without unnecessary risk of falling, and I stepped into class a full minute before the tardy bell rang. I carefully navigated my way through the aisle and to the teacher's desk at the back of the room. Madame LaSalle smiled brightly as I handed her my slip, which she promptly signed and returned after adding my name to her roster. She had a kind face and warm brown eyes. She wore her gray hair pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. She pointed for me to take a seat next to a familiar looking girl with light brown hair. I recognized her from my English class, although we hadn't yet spoke. We exchanged smiles and both busied ourselves getting our supplies out.

Laughter from across the room caught my attention, and I turned to find my gaze looked with the fishy-eyed blond who'd also been in my English class. She was smirking at me, and I immediately felt the blush burn my cheeks and neck. I turned to face the front of the classroom, refusing to be caught up in any drama on my very first day.

Much like in the classes we'd already endured, most of the hour was spent assigning texts and passing out what seemed to me like a ridiculous amount of paperwork. I learned that the shy girl who sat beside me was named Angela, and I liked her immediately. She was soft spoken and unlike Jessica she didn't try to squeeze my life story out of me in our first five minutes of conversation.

Madame LaSalle dismissed us ten minutes early, so I was in no rush as I set off for Building One. I stood outside until the bell rang, enjoying the fresh air and reveling in the fact that the day was half over. I checked my schedule to verify the room number before pulling the heavy doors open and slowly walking through the crowded hallway.

"Heya Bells!" Embry panted over my shoulder as we entered the classroom together.

"Embry," I glanced over my shoulder to offer him a warm smile. We stepped to the teacher's desk together and presented Mrs. Stewart our slips to be signed. She signed them and handed them back to us distractedly, instructing us to find seats wherever.

Embry followed me to the back of the classroom where we found two empty seats side by side. He plopped into his seat, dwarfing it with his large frame and stretching his long legs out in front of him. I smiled at Angela when I saw her walk into the room. She smiled back and seated herself directly in front of me. I had a feeling she and I would be friends.

The door to the classroom burst open as Mrs. Stewart called for us to pass up copies of the classroom rules that she'd asked us all to sign. I looked up after passing my paper to Angela, to see a very familiar, dark-haired girl burst into the classroom. She glanced at the instructor apologetically before hurrying to the first vacant seat she came to. At a glance I took in her pale skin and her every-which-way spiky hair and realized I'd seen her before. As soon as I remembered where I'd seen her, outside the little boutique in Seattle, I realized there was a very strange noise coming from Embry. Not only that, but his entire body was trembling. You could hear the wood of his desk squeak out in protest as his large frame vibrated within it.

"Embry," I whispered, but he gave no indication of having heard me. "**EMBRY**!" I called to him again, as loud as I dared without fear of attracting the teacher's attention, still no reaction from him. So, I leaned across the narrow aisle that separated our desks and pinched him on the side as hard as I could.

"Damn it Bells!" he cried out loudly, twirling in his seat to give me a death-glare and earning a disapproving glance from our instructor.

"What's wrong?" I asked him quietly.

His expression was fierce, and he was sitting rigid in his seat but he shook his head refusing to answer me. The low rumbling sound continued to reverberate through him, and I swore it sounded like he was growling. I tried to get his attention again, but he ignored me completely. I sighed in frustration and returned my attention to the front of the classroom. I decided I'd wait and ask him about it at lunch.

When the bell announcing lunch finally rang, I took my time gathering my belongings and storing them in my messenger bag. The dark-haired pixie was one of the first out of the room. Embry hung back with me, albeit impatiently. I'd always tried to avoid the initial stampede to get out the door. As the crowd dispersed, we quickly strolled out of the room to meet up with Leah and Jake for lunch.

As soon as we stepped out of the building, I found myself being practically assaulted by Jessica, the chatterbox from my History class. "Bella!" she shrieked, forcefully grabbing my right arm and winding it through her own. "You **have** to sit with us at lunch!" I nearly tripped when she gave my arm a not-so-gentle yank, forcing me to fall in step with her, as we made our way, presumably, toward the cafeteria.

"I uh… That's really sweet of you Jess," I started, forcing sincerity into my voice. "But I sort of already promised some friends I'd meet them for lunch."

"Oh," her face momentarily fell but then brightened up immediately before she asked, "You mean those two totally gorgeous guys from History?" pretending not to see Embry standing right there. "Oh," she giggled when he raised his brow at her, "hi there."

He winked and offered her a toothy grin, sending her into another fit of giggles. I rolled my eyes before making the introductions. "Oh uh, Jess this is my good friend Embry Call. Embry meet Jessica, she's in our History class.

"Yeah I kinda picked up on that," he smiled. "Good to meet ya Jess," he said with a swooping bow.

"Well," I cut in, "we need to go meet Jake and Leah. Maybe a rain check for lunch?" I asked, trying to shove Embry into motion again.

"Leah?" Jessica asked, looking confused.

"Yeah she just started today too," Embry explained, "She's a senior."

"Oh…" Jessica replied. "Well, why don't you **all** come sit with us at lunch? I can introduce you and your friends to all my friends!"

I was wracking my brain for an excuse. I'd been looking forward to sitting down with Leah, Jacob and Embry and quietly going over our days. Embry, on the other hand, seemed to have other plans.

"That's sounds great," he answered, mirroring her excitement. We'd both temporarily forgotten about the way he'd acted in Calculus by then.

Jessica let out a high-pitched squeal and then looped her free arm through Embry's, dragging the both of us toward the cafeteria.

Embry was the first to spot Leah and Jacob waiting for us at one of the outdoor tables located just outside the cafeteria. He gave a shout to get their attention and waved them both over.

I immediately noticed that Leah appeared to be more than a little annoyed. I shot her a curious glance but she just shook her head and looked expectantly from me to Jessica.

"OK, Leah Clearwater, Jacob Black, this is Jessica Stanley. Jessica, these are my best friends, Leah and Jake." They exchanged smiles and hellos and I caught Leah's 'What have you gotten me into look,' and nodded toward Embry who was currently quietly talking to Jessica, his arm casually slung around her shoulders. "Jessica invited us to join her and her friends for lunch," I explained, hoping Jess would miss the apologetic tone in my voice.

Jacob had a pleasant smile plastered on his face but he didn't say anything. So, when Leah nodded her acceptance, we all filed into the cafeteria to take our place in the lunch line.

We progressed through the line slowly. Embry and Jacob both stepped out with trays piled high with food. Leah and I each grabbed a slice of pizza and a bottle of lemonade. Jessica grabbed a salad and a carton of milk, before leading us across the crowded lunchroom. As we followed her to her table I couldn't help but notice the amount of attention we were all getting. Charlie had already alerted me of the fact that new faces were a rarity around here so I assumed that four new students in one day was pretty big news.

When we arrived at a large table in the center of the room, Jessica stopped and dropped her tray in front of an empty seat at the end. She gestured for the rest of us to sit down as well, eyeing Embry as she pulled out the seat next to her. He smirked and quickly sat down beside her. I took the seat opposite her, Leah sat next to me with Jake on the other side of her.

The remaining seats were filled quickly and Jessica set about making the introductions. I recognized several faces from my morning classes, including the fishy-eyed girl from my English and French classes. I learned that her name was Lauren but her big eyes and tiny pouty mouth made it difficult to think of her as anything other than fish-face or the fishy-eyed girl. I said a silent prayer that I'd be able to remember at least some of their names.

Leah's phone went off a few minutes later, and she excused herself from the table to answer it. She was back within a couple of minutes, asking Jake and Embry to step outside with her. I gave her a curious look and she leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Nothing to worry about but Sam's in the area and wanted to talk to us. We'll meet you back here before the bell rings."

I nodded, reluctant to be left alone with Jessica and her cronies. As soon as the three of them disappeared from sight, Jessica started giving me the third degree. What did I know about Embry? And Jacob? Were either of them my boyfriend? Had either of them ever been my boyfriend? How long had I known them? My head was spinning, and Leah and the guys hadn't been gone for five minutes!

In the middle of my telling Jessica about just how wonderful Leah really was, under her sometimes-gruff exterior, the outside doors to the cafeteria opened. I glanced up, expecting to see Leah, Jacob and Embry. Instead, I found myself a spectator to Forks High School's very own, 'Parade of the Beautiful'.

I gasped in surprise as the tall, beautiful blond-haired girl I'd seen a couple weeks before in Seattle strolled in on the arm of a gorgeous, hulking, bear of a man. His dark brown hair was short and curly and his physique reminded me of a grizzly bear, in spite of his boyish grin and deep dimples. Together they were perhaps the most beautiful couple in the world. Another couple came in on the heels of the first. The dark-haired pixie I'd now seen twice, twirled into the room under the arm of a tall slender boy with shaggy honey-blond hair and an almost pained expression on his face. She laughed, a light, musical sound that reminded me of bells, as he twirled her around and around.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I turned to Jessica and quietly asked, "Who're they?"

She leaned in and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Those are the Cullens," she whispered as the door opened again.

My breath caught as the most… beautiful boy I'd ever seen in all my life walked into the room, following the others toward the lunch line. I could hear Jessica talking, but I couldn't drag my attention away from the beautiful creature. He was tall and lean, but not skinny. He had the build of a swimmer or someone who ran track, and he had the most unusual hair I'd ever seen. I was a reddish-brown color with coppery highlights and it stuck up all over the place like he'd just rolled out of bed.

"So," Jessica continued, not realizing that I'd checked out of the conversation for a moment. "The first two are Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen. That other couple, the one that looks like he's in pain is Jasper Hale, Rosalie's twin brother and the little one is Alice Cullen. They're like all _together_ and they live together. I mean how weird is that?"

"They're not really related Jess," Angela cut in, turning to me before continuing. "Dr. and Mrs. Cullen are like thirty-something and super-nice; they adopted the kids. Jasper and Rosalie are really Mrs. Cullen's niece and nephew, but the rest of them are orphans or something. They've only been here a couple years."

"Moved here from somewhere in Alaska or something," Jessica added.

The couples reentered the cafeteria and settled down at a table across the room from us. When the last boy came out and made to join the others I couldn't help myself. "Who's he?" I asked.

Jessica smiled a very tight smile. "That's Edward, the only eligible Cullen," she informed me as I watched him take a seat at the table with the rest of his family. "He's only eligible in that he doesn't have a girlfriend though; he doesn't date, so don't waste your time. No one around here's good enough."

_Edward_. I repeated the name silently to myself. I glanced over at Jessica; her voice was jaded when she spoke the last part. I couldn't help but wonder how many times he'd rejected her. I returned my attention to the table they were sitting at and saw Edward looking toward us, a look of severe concentration on his beautiful face. Our eyes met for a moment and I swore I saw a look of annoyance cross his face before he turned to look away.

I leaned forward, allowing my hair to fall in front of my shoulders, tuned out the chatter around me and picked at my pizza. I spent the remainder of the period watching the beautiful people push their food around on their trays, from behind the curtain of my hair.

Five minutes before the bell rang, the pixie rose and seemed to dance across the cafeteria to throw her untouched lunch into the trash bin. She frantically motioned for the others to follow her before she glided out the doors. The blond boy appeared to be exchanging some rather heated words with the other female before spinning on his heel following the pixie's path out of the cafeteria. The giant then stood and took the beautiful blond's hand, wrapping an enormous arm around her before they too took their leave. Edward was hot on their heels.

He'd no more than disappeared from view, when the door opened and Leah, Jacob and Embry rushed in. I instantly noticed that all three of them seemed tense and I wondered what could've happened to cause it. The bell signaling the end of lunch rang before they made it to the table. We wordlessly gathered up our trash, and disposed of it on our way out of the lunchroom.

We walked in an awkward silence until we stepped outside, at which point Embry cleared his throat and tried to lighten the air. "Just two more classes and we can blow this popsicle stand." His smile was warm but obviously forced.

"Where you headed now Bells?" Jake asked, stopping to allow me to pull my schedule out and check.

I pointed to the building to our left. "Biology. Right here in two twenty nine."

"Cool, Embry and I have Spanish in room two fourteen. We'll walk ya," he offered.

"I've gotta head to the gym," Leah muttered sourly. "I'll meet you back at the truck after school Bells," and with a quick wave she was off.

Embry and Jacob hooked their arms through mine and we walked through the doors and into the crowded corridor. I couldn't help noticing the looks we were getting. I figured my little self between the two burly Quileutes must've made a pretty comical sight.

We came to a stop just outside the door to my Biology class. Jacob smiled down at me and gave me a quick hug. "I'll meet ya right here after class," he said, "and we'll walk to gym together."

I nodded and watched as the two of them turned to head back to their Spanish class. When all but the top of Jake's head disappeared into the crowd, I took a deep breath and stepped into my classroom.

I walked to the corner of the room where Mr. Banner, the Biology teacher, sat going over a stack of papers. He was an older gentleman, with salt and pepper hair and a thick, graying mustache. He glanced up and wordlessly took the slip of paper I offered him. He scrawled his initials on the form before returning it to me. He looked up, eyes scanning the room as the tardy bell rang.

"Have a seat next to Mr. Cullen, Miss Swan," he said, gesturing toward the sea of lab tables.

I looked up and saw that there was in fact only one empty seat remaining and perched next to it, was the beautiful boy I'd seen in the lunchroom. _Edward Cullen._

I took a deep breath in an effort to quell the sudden rush of butterflies that chose that moment to take flight in my stomach, and carefully made my way to my seat. I glanced over at him before climbing onto the empty stool beside him. He was staring straight ahead, the annoyed look I'd noticed earlier back on his handsome face.

I took out my binder and my pen, settling my messenger bag at my feet while stealing glances at the Greek God sitting next to me. A loud thump startled me, and I looked up to find Mike, the blond boy that reminded me of a Labrador retriever, smiling down at me after dropping two textbooks on the table in front me. He chuckled at my surprised expression and winked before moving on to continue his task of passing out books.

I slid one of the books across the table to Edward and found him staring at me. His skin was incredibly pale, and his eyes were so dark I couldn't tell where his irises ended and his pupils began. I felt a shudder run down my spine when our gazes locked. His brow was furrowed and his forehead creased like he was intently focused on something that he couldn't quite understand.

He looked down at the book I'd slid in front of him before returning his piercing eyes to my face. He offered me a tight smile and said, "Thank you. Bella right?"

I nodded, momentarily struck silent and feeling the blood rush to stain my cheeks a bright red. His voice was incredible, velvety smooth with an almost musical quality to it. I wanted him to keep talking, just so I could keep listening to his beautiful voice.

"I'm Edward Cullen," he said in that same lilting tone, and I found myself lost in the beauty of this young man. I'd never felt anything close to what I felt just sitting next to him. He was unadulterated perfection. Michelangelo would be sorry to have missed seeing Edward Cullen, I thought to myself.

Mr. Banner was wrapping up his first day lecture by the time I realized I was still staring unabashedly at Edward. I felt the blush heat up my face again as I returned my attention to the front of the room. "Take a look at your neighbor," he was saying, "because the person sitting next to you will be your lab partner for the year."

I glanced over at Edward again and could've sworn he was peering at me from beneath his long lashes. He sat stone still and had I not known better I would've sworn he wasn't even breathing.

When the bell rang, Edward practically leapt from his seat and was out of the classroom in a flash. I sat there, stunned by the curious boy and his odd behavior until I heard Jake calling for me from the door. With a firm shake of my head I shoved my books back into my bag and hurried out to walk to gym with Jacob.

We spent the next half-hour running laps around the basketball court. Jacob couldn't resist the opportunity to show off his speed, and ended up lapping me three times before we stopped. Coach Clapp called us all over to the bleachers and instructed us to bring our gym clothes the following day and to be prepared to play volleyball. I groaned, not feeling especially anxious to put my lack of coordination on display. I heard Jake chuckle behind me as he gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sure they have a nurse on staff Bells," he teased. "It won't be too bad."

When the bell rang I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Unfortunately, quick and clumsy just don't go together, and I tripped over the bottom row of bleachers and went tumbling, right into Mike Newton. He caught me, but almost lost his balance and fell in the process.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed chuckling, "I thought I was supposed to be trying to sweep you off your feet, not the other way around," he teased good-naturedly.

I mumbled an apology as I righted myself and walked out of the gym as fast as I dared. Jake jogged up along side of me and he tried to restrain his chuckles, "Hey. You ok?"

"Of course I'm ok Jake," I huffed, "nobody falls better than Bella Swan," I muttered, still burning with embarrassment over my latest tumble.

He laughed outright, "Yeah you're probably right there."

We walked across the parking lot and stopped in front of my truck to wait for Embry and Leah. Embry arrived first, having apparently bumped into Jessica along the way. She was walking with him and giggling over something he was saying as they approached us.

"You guys remember Jess, right?" He asked.

Jake and I both nodded and Embry turned to speak to her again. "Well you have my number. Don't be afraid to use it. I think we're all gonna hit First Beach this weekend, ya know kind of celebrate surviving the first week of school… You should come."

She looked as though she were about to burst at his invitation. "Sounds great! OK, well… I gotta get home. I'm sooo glad you guys are here. I just **know** this is gonna be the best year ever!" With that she spun around and hurried off through the parking lot.

"Dude," Jake smirked at Embry, "What was that?"

Embry just smirked back and wiggled his eyebrows at Jacob, but refused to comment at all.

Leah joined us then, slightly out of breath, but happier than she'd seemed earlier. "You guys all set?" she asked us.

I opened the door to my truck and hoisted myself up and onto the seat. She came to stand in the open door and handed me her bag. "Bells, the guys and I have to run home for a little while. I'll have Jake drop me off back at your house this evening. That ok with you?"

"Sure," I replied, thinking about the peculiar behavior earlier in the day. "Is everything ok?" I asked.

"Sure, sure" Jake responded. "It's just some silly traditions we have on the first day of school," he assured me.

My gaze darted between the three of them, and I couldn't shake the feeling that they were lying to me. I took a deep breath and nodded, "I guess I'll see ya later."

Leah stepped back and closed the truck door. Jake reached up to muss my hair, and Embry gave me one of his mock salutes. The three of them glanced toward the other end of the parking lot before climbing into Jake's Rabbit.

I turned the key and the Chevy's engine roared to life. Jake pulled out of his spot and I fell in behind him. As we neared the end of the school lot, I felt my skin prickling, like it does when your body's trying to make you aware of the fact that you're being watched. I glanced into my rearview mirror, standing next to a shiny silver car was none other than Edward Cullen and his beautiful siblings, and it appeared as though every single one of them were staring after me.

I sighed and pulled out onto the highway, anxious to get home to replay the events of the day. There were a couple of things I was already certain of. Leah, Embry and Jacob were definitely hiding something from me, although I couldn't fathom what it was, and there was something VERY different about Edward Cullen and his inhumanly beautiful family. By the time I pulled up in front of Charlie's, I'd come to the decision that no matter what, I was going to figure it out.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** OMG!!! Prey For Protection has been nominated for three Indies! How cool is that??? If you haven't already done so get on over there and VOTE! (there's a link on my profile.) Whether you vote for me or one of the many other awesome stories that got nominated. Vote.

Thanks to each and every one of you for reading and a HUGE thanks to my beta Twike! U Rock girl!  
Here's something a lot of you have been waiting for... Mr. Edward Cullen's PoV :)  
SM STILL owns all things Twilight... I know, it breaks my heart too...

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**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Eleven:

Edward

She was up to something and while she may have perfected the art of keeping her thoughts from me, she could not hide the fact that she was hiding something. I tilted my rearview mirror and glared into the backseat at my annoying little pixie of a sister. She smirked back at me and even had the audacity to stick her tongue out like a petulant child. Her thoughts were focused on her plans for renovating her closet. She was mentally inventorying her wardrobe and categorizing the individual garments by designer, style and color.

Whatever she was hiding certainly had her worked up. She was so excited she was practically vibrating in her seat. Jasper sat next to her, smiling and reveling in the joy and excitement that seemed to ooze from her tiny body. He pulled her closer, and she nestled her face into the crook of his arm. I rolled my eyes at her reflection as I guided my beloved Volvo into the parking lot of Forks High School.

I parked and Rosalie pulled up alongside us with Emmett riding shotgun in her ostentatious red BMW. As soon as I stepped out of the car, I noticed the disgusting smell of wet dog heavy in the air. As my siblings and I gathered around the front of the Volvo, I distinctly heard a deep growling sound. The rest of my family obviously heard it as well, as they all looked around to find the source of the sound; their thoughts ranging from mere curiosity to fear of an impending attack of some sort.

I was scanning the thoughts of the nearby children, to assess whether or not the sound had been audible to human ears, when I discovered the source. Standing nearly halfway across the parking lot were two dark-haired, copper-skinned children that I immediately realized were Quileutes, one male and one female. Their presence was puzzling as I was certain that they had their own school back on their reservation. They weren't your typical Native American teenagers either. Their scents and their thoughts indicated that they were, in fact, werewolves.

From the female's thoughts, it was obvious that she knew what we were, and she automatically assumed that we were a threat to them. She had to be aware of the treaty, therefore she had to know that an attack within the neutral territory of Forks would be a direct violation of said treaty. She was trembling with rage, and her companion continued emitting that low growl.

The female was actually quite striking. Her long black hair and penetrating dark eyes led to a rather exotic sort of beauty, not commonly seen in Forks. Her beauty definitely appeared to only be skin-deep, as her thoughts were angry and vulgar enough to rival those of Emmett or Rosalie. She looked at each of us and she appeared to quickly recognize Alice. Apparently this was the 'smelly girl' that poor Alice had had a run in with in Seattle. I remember her being quite upset when we'd met up with her and Rosalie in front of one of Rose's favorite shops during our recent back-to-school shopping trip. She'd refused to say anything more than, 'some smelly girl' came running out of the boutique growling at her for no apparent reason. What troubled her most had been the fact that she hadn't seen it coming. She wondered if there was any connection between that fact and her hazy, indecipherable visions of late. Visions, she suspected, she was just beginning to understand. This of course sparked my own curiosity, as she'd never experienced anything like it before, but she immediately shifted her focus to alphabetizing and reciting the books of The Old Testament.

"Embry," the girl across the lot spoke in a hushed voice, "go to Jacob and Bella. Don't let either of them leave the woods yet. If anything happens, get'em the hell outta here. Once you're with them, give Sam a call." As she spoke, I saw an image of a large boy, apparently a third werewolf, and a dark-haired, fair-skinned, petite, human girl flash through her mind.

"Leah…" the boy started to object, his thoughts were warring between complying with her request to go guard the human, and his desire to stay and protect his friend.

His hesitation did not go unnoticed, and it seemed to only further agitate the girl. "God damn it Embry!" she hissed. "Go. Keep Bella safe, or I will personally rip your throat out," and judging by her thoughts, she meant it.

The boy backed away, eyeing us cautiously until he'd nearly crossed the rest of the parking lot before turning and running into the woods. The girl continued to glare our way, her mind an angry mass of accusations and questions. She seemed especially concerned with Jasper. It appeared as though she thought he was someone named James; someone whom she feared meant to hurt the human girl she was hiding in the woods.

She stood there scowling and willing herself to remain in control. She was trying to memorize our faces so that she could describe us to someone named Sam. She decided she needed to get the girl to safety before she ripped us to shreds. I felt a low growl rumble through my chest in response to the implied threat and I took a step in her direction. Emmett and Jasper grabbed my arms, restraining me as I snarled at the raven-haired girl across the parking lot. She retreated toward the woods much like her companion had, not turning her back on us until she was well away from us.

"What the hell was that?" Emmett asked, staring after the girl.

"That," I said low enough that I needn't worry about being overheard, "was a werewolf."

"No way!" Jasper protested disbelievingly. "A werewolf at Forks High?"

"It would appear as though there are three werewolves at Forks High," I informed them. "And they seem to be protecting a human girl from a group of our kind."

"Great," Rosalie huffed, "so now we have to smell **that** all day?" She rolled her eyes and stormed off toward her class. The rest of us followed suit, deciding to go on about our day until we found out a little more about our visitors.

I caught Alice's eye and raised my brow, silently asking her if she saw any impending trouble.

She looked away and answered without words. _'I can't see much of anything right now. I do see us meeting with Carlisle about them tonight,'_ she glanced at me again and shrugged her tiny shoulders, '_so I gather from that that we'll all make it through the day.'_ We walked on toward our classes and parted company just outside of Building Two.

As I made my way through the crowded corridors, I realized that the new students, Isabella Swan and her Quileute friends, were on the minds of practically every child I passed. Small town living, I thought to myself, and wondered if they had any idea what a commotion their mere presence brought about.

When the bell rang, I walked to my first class at a human pace. I couldn't force myself to pay attention to the redundant lectures that made up the first day of school. I'd endured far too many first days of school to believe that I'd actually miss anything due to my distractedness.

I spent the remainder of the morning contemplating the appearance of the wolves. Carlisle needed to be made aware of the situation. I was quite certain he'd want to speak with one of the Quileute elders to ensure that the treaty was in fact still in effect. That train of thought kept bringing me back to the dark-haired girl I'd seen in the mind of the young wolves.

I'd seen her face several times throughout the day in the minds of our fellow students. It wasn't until lunchtime that I finally had the opportunity to see her for myself. The first thing that I noticed about her was the fact that I couldn't hear her mind, no matter how intently I listened. I was perplexed to say the very least. Could Alice's fuzzy visions have pertained to this girl? This human girl whose mind appeared to be unreachable by me? Perhaps she somehow repelled the gifts of our kind. I watched her from across the cafeteria, and from the corner of my eye I saw Alice, watching me watch the new girl, a knowing smile upon her face.

I watched as Jessica Stanley and her table full of cronies, fawned over their newest classmate. She looked uncomfortable, her cheeks were flush and she was nervously working her bottom lip with her teeth. Why couldn't I hear her?

I slumped down into my chair and stretched my legs out in front of me and closed my eyes. When I looked at her a moment later from under the cover of my lashes, it was as if I were seeing her through different eyes. She was lovely, in fact, there was no denying that she was downright beautiful. She was small, only a few inches taller than our tiny Alice. There was something especially fragile about her, something that made her seem even more breakable than the average human, something endearing about her – that made one want to ensure that she was kept safe. I was completely mesmerized. Her hair was a warm, chestnut brown that hung loosely around her shoulders, framing her heart-shaped face beautifully, and her skin was nearly as pale as my own. However, nothing could have possibly prepared me for the moment she walked through the door of my Biology class.

When she entered the room and approached Mr. Banner's desk, a contrasting mixture of scents immediately assaulted me. I pondered the smells, something absolutely wonderful, practically hidden behind the revolting stench of her furry friends. I sighed in frustration at her still silent mind, and noticed her glancing toward me from the corner of her eye.

She was startled when the Newton boy dropped our books on the table. There was something in the way her breath hitched and the blood rushed to her cheeks, turning them a faint rose color. When she turned to pass me one of the books, our eyes locked for a moment, and her blush deepened. In that moment I realized that I hadn't noticed her eyes before, although once I saw them I couldn't imagine how I'd missed them. They were like two melted chocolate orbs. Her gaze held me captive. When she looked into my eyes, I felt more exposed and vulnerable than I'd ever felt in my entire existence.

_Who was this girl?_ I wondered. T_his human child that was somehow immune to our gifts. _I decided I'd have to talk to Jasper to see if his empathic powers had any effect on her.

I reached out and lay my hand on the book that she was sliding toward me. I tried again, without success, to hear her thoughts, before I was finally able to tear my eyes from hers. I looked down at the book on the table and realized I'd yet to speak a single word to the poor girl. I slid the book directly in front of me and forced a friendly smile onto my face before speaking. "Thank you," I offered, "Bella, right?"

Her cheeks brightened to an impossibly darker shade of pink as she silently nodded in response. All of her blushing was causing the very alluring scent of her blood to overpower the wet dog-like smell that seemed to have rubbed off on her from her from her canine friends. I swallowed back the venom that suddenly pooled in my mouth and offered her another smile. "I'm Edward Cullen," I offered, before pretending to divert my attention to Mr. Banner's incessant babbling.

In reality, I continued to watch her from the corner of my eye. I found it strangely exciting that she was watching me as well. Her heartbeat had picked up and her cheeks and chest were flush. I wondered if perhaps her instincts were telling her to be afraid of the monster she'd inadvertently gotten too close to. When the bell rang, I was out of the classroom before anyone else.

The next hour crept by as I impatiently awaited the ringing of the bell. When it finally rang, I moved as quickly as possible without drawing unnecessary attention to myself. Alice and Jasper were already waiting by the Volvo when I arrived and Rose and Emmett were right behind me.

"We have to talk to Carlisle about this," Rosalie declared as she joined us. "That stinking female is in three of my classes. I cannot and will not tolerate being forced to breathe that horrible stench every day. Do you know what she did in US Government? She growled at me when I walked in the classroom. Fucking growled at me!" She huffed acrimoniously.

"They're no happier about our presence here than we are about theirs," Jasper informed her. "During the class I shared with the female, she was positively seething and putting off some serious protective vibes too. I couldn't tell where they were directed though."

"I think they're trying to protect that little human girl," Emmett added, "I saw the males with her several times today. The big one seemed especially taken with her. Maybe she's into double doggy-style…" He added wiggling his eyebrows and ducking the smack that Rose attempted to deliver to the back of his head. I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose and attempted to clear the filthy images from my mind that Emmett insisted on sharing.

Thankfully, the ridiculously loud sound of an engine begging for death interrupted his train of thought. We all watched as a dilapidated old VW Rabbit, carrying three glowering werewolves, drove by, headed for the exit. Right behind it was Isabella Swan in her ancient eyesore of a truck. I noticed her watching us from her rearview mirror until she exited the school grounds, pulling out onto the highway.

As I watched her pull out of sight, I wondered again after the fragile human girl who seemed immune to vampire powers and enjoyed the company of a vacillating group of young werewolves. I was certain she wasn't one of them. Was she even aware of their canine alter egos? And what had she done to require protection against a group of vampires? How had she even attracted their attention? Most of 'our kind' were only ever in the presence of a human long enough to feed from them. This train of thought reminded me that I had yet to ask Jasper about her.

Rose and Emmett were already pulling out as I slid in behind the wheel of the Volvo. Alice and Jasper were already settled into the backseat. "Jasper," I asked as I inserted the key causing the Volvo to purr to life. "Were you able to get a read on Isabella Swan at any point today?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "Yeah, in the cafeteria she was incredibly nervous, curious and a little excited. Why?"

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Really," he affirmed. "Why do you ask?"

I blew out a frustrated huff before replying. "Well, it would appear as though Alice can't see her and I find myself unable to hear her thoughts. I'd assumed that she was simply immune to our gifts.

"I can see her just fine, thank you very much." Alice informed me indignantly. "It's those stinky dogs I can't seem to see. She's just with them all the flippin' time so they prevent me from-" She then gasped as she took note of the rest of my words. "Edward! You can't hear her?" She asked in astonishment.

I shook my head dejectedly and continued out of the parking lot and toward our home. Neither Alice nor Jasper spoke again for the duration of the trip. Both of their thoughts were occupied with my admission. They were both aware of the fact that I'd never, in all of my existence, encountered a mind that was closed to me.

We were all sitting around our seldom-used dining room table when Carlisle arrived home from work. We learned that he'd already spoken with Ephraim Black's grandson, Billy Black. He'd called Carlisle at the hospital, and they'd set up a meeting at the treaty line.

"We should all go," Rosalie insisted as Carlisle and I stood to leave. "Safety in numbers and all…"

"Yeah why should you two have all the fun?" Emmett chimed in. "Do you know how many they're bringing? What are ya gonna do if they start foaming at the mouth and go all mad-dog on you?"

"Carlisle," Jasper interjected, "perhaps, at the very least, I should accompany the two of you. Young werewolves are notoriously unstable and temperamental; my gift may well come in handy."

Carlisle immediately saw the wisdom in Jasper's words and nodded in agreement. In the end we decided that Jasper, Emmett and I would accompany Carlisle to the treaty line. Between Carlisle's natural charisma and diplomacy, my ability to read their thoughts and Jasper's ability to gauge and manipulate their emotions, we hoped there'd be no need for Emmett's brawn.

As we approached the designated location, the first thoughts I picked up on seemed to be those of the alpha wolf. His primary concern was that we would feel that they were overstepping their boundaries by having a presence at Forks High. The treaty however, clearly noted the town of Forks as neutral territory, meaning that they had just as much of a right to be there as we did. They could not come onto Cullen property, and we could not cross onto their reservation or take the life of a human. In all reality, that was all the treaty entailed.

A moment later I heard the familiar 'voices' of the male wolves that we'd spotted at school. The one called Embry was preoccupied with some rather disturbing thoughts involving one Jessica Stanley. Having experienced the crass vulgarity of Jessica's mind first hand, I realized just how compatible the two of them were. If he could prevent her from having those wretched fantasies about me, I would be forever indebted to the mutt.

The other male, Jacob, was the one that had been hiding Bella in the woods behind the school. He was obviously very taken with the human girl, not that I could blame him. However, it appeared as though she had already 'set him straight' so to speak. She'd professed to loving him, but not in the way that he wanted her too. She'd referred to him as 'like a brother' and that statement had pained him greatly. He was convinced that she only needed more time and was scheming to try and make her jealous in the process.

I, on the other hand, was positively ecstatic to know that she didn't return his feelings. I had no idea why it made me so happy, but there was no denying the immense satisfaction and oddly enough, the surge of hope, I felt at that moment. Jasper felt it too and cast me a questioning look, which I chose to ignore.

It wasn't until we stepped into the clearing, less than a hundred yards from the treaty line, that I noticed the forth internal dialogue. Billy Black, descendant of Ephraim Black, was sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the wolves. His thoughts were calm and his purpose was clear. He was only here to ensure that the treaty remained intact. Charles Swan was a very close personal friend of the tribal elder's and Billy took the threat to Bella as if it were to one of his own daughters.

Carlisle looked to Jasper, who nodded that the emotional climate seemed peaceful enough to continue. He then glanced at me and silently asked, _'Do they pose a threat to us?'_ I looked to the right and then quickly to the left, wordlessly answering him. He gave a curt nod before taking a step forward to speak.

"Good evening Chief Black," Carlisle began. "Please allow me to introduce you to my sons. This is Emmett, Jasper and Edward." He gestured to each of us as he said our names, and we each nodded our greetings."

"Dr. Cullen," Billy replied, "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, especially on such short notice. This is Sam Uley, the pack's alpha; my son, Jacob; and his friend, Embry Call. He pointed to each of them as he made the introductions. I'd wanted to introduce you to Leah as well, she is attending Forks High School this year also, but it seems she had a previous engagement," he explained apologetically.

In truth, his thoughts betrayed the fact that the female had vehemently refused to accompany the others. She'd insisted that they shouldn't leave the girl unprotected, but Billy was convinced that she simply wanted no part in a meeting with their immortal, mortal enemies. Remembering her reaction to us at school, I couldn't help thinking she was wise to stay away.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances," Carlisle said with a warm smile and a half bow. "On the telephone you mentioned a problem with some of our kind? What exactly can we do for you Chief Black?"

"We ask nothing of you," the chief explained, "we just wanted you to be aware of why we are suddenly sending some of our young ones into your school. I will spare you the details as they are not your concern, and it is not my story to tell. In short, we believe Chief Swan's daughter is being hunted by group of cold ones, unlike you and yours they choose to sustain themselves on human blood. We rather expected them to come for her by now, but we are certain that they will come. When they do, we will deal with them in the only way we know how. We will rip them to shreds and burn the pieces. However, we have no desire to disrupt the peace that exists between us and we wanted to make that clear to you and your coven."

"My family," Carlisle responded emphasizing the word, "and I appreciate that immensely. Why do you think the human is being hunted?"

"One of the vampires was recently changed, during his human life he and Isabella were… very close. He has sent her several threatening letters- all declaring that he will come for her."

"I see," replied Carlisle, his heart went out to the young girl and the horrors she must've experienced by being thrown into our world. "You should know that her mere knowledge of 'our kind' could prove to be dangerous. We are governed by a very old, very powerful coven of vampires that reside in Italy. They are called the Volturi and should they hear of her knowledge, they will come for her to ensure her silence and the safety of 'our kind'."

"She knows only that her ex-boyfriend was stalking her in Phoenix. She doesn't know that he is no longer human and she doesn't believe that he would follow her here. However if our legends hold merit, and we believe they do, if he wants her for his mate he will stop at nothing to claim her for his own."

At those words, the previously distracted young Jacob began to tremble and growl. _'Over my dead body,'_ the pup thought. The alpha quickly moved to put a hand on Jacob's arm and cast him a meaningful look, silently demanding that he control himself.

Billy sighed deeply, trying to hide his frustration with his son's display. "We felt it necessary to enlighten her father. Once we realized what we were facing it seemed wise that Charlie understand what they were up against. He insisted that Bella be kept unaware until it becomes necessary to do otherwise. He didn't want her time in Forks to be riddled with nightmares and paranoia… she had enough of that in Arizona."

"I see," Carlisle replied thoughtfully. "I still think it wise that you inform them both of the dire need to keep their knowledge a secret. Should the Volturi come for them, it would be detrimental to all of us. They would just as soon kill us all and ask questions later," he warned. "I'll ask my children to stay alert; should they come across any others we will let you know."

"I'll make sure Charlie understands the urgency of the secret he keeps," Billy assured us. "Thank you for understanding, we wouldn't send our young ones off of the reservation if it weren't necessary. We prefer to keep them close to home; it's easier to keep them safe that way."

Carlisle nodded his agreement and we bade our farewells. We set off for home at vampire speed, each of us pondering what lay on the horizon for the oblivious human girl and her canine friends.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

**Bella**

The remainder of the week passed by in a blur of homework assignments, new faces and names I knew I'd never remember. By the time Friday rolled around I wasn't sure I would be able to make it another day.

The ready-made support system I thought I had in Jake, Embry and Leah wasn't quite working out the way I thought it would. One or both of the guys escorted me to each and every class, but that only served to further annoy me. It wasn't like walking to class with your friends; it felt more like being babysat.

We decided to eat our lunch at one of the outdoor tables as long as the weather permitted. While I have to admit I was a little sad to give up my Cullen gazing time, I was more comfortable outside of the endless stares in the crowded cafeteria.

Jessica Stanley joined us every afternoon. Her nonstop babbling was driving me absolutely crazy. She mooned over Embry and every little thing he did. Leah pointedly ignored both of them. I tried to follow suit but they made it very difficult not to notice them. By Thursday they'd progressed from merely being attached at the hip, to being attached at the lips, which was something of an improvement, in that not even 'Jabber-jaws' Jessica Stanley could run her mouth while involved in a lip lock.

Jacob seemed to prefer playing the field. He was thoroughly enjoying all of the attention. He'd had a different lunch companion every day so far. All of them struck me as brainless bimbos, and for some reason it bothered me that he would be interested in 'that kind' of girl.

Leah… She was there as much as she could be, but she was a year ahead of me so we didn't have any classes together. During the school day I only saw her at lunch. Granted, she was practically living at Charlie's, and outside of school we were practically inseparable.

Having heard Embry invite Jessica out to La Push Saturday afternoon, Leah had decided to spend the weekend at Charlie's also. We decided we'd skip their nauseating PDA in favor of getting ahead on some of our schoolwork.

My one bright point during the school day came right after lunch. Biology was quickly becoming my new favorite subject. Of course, it had nothing to do with Biology or Mr. Banner's charismatic way of addressing it. No, it was my charming and inhumanly beautiful lab partner that caused fifth period to be the class worth getting up and going to school for.

When I joined him at our lab table on Tuesday he seemed much more relaxed than he had the day before. He smiled at me as I took my seat and my knees immediately buckled. It was a good thing I was already in the process of sitting.

I'd just started taking notes on Mr. Banner's lecture on cell division when a spiral notebook slid across the table. I glanced at Edward, who appeared to be listening to Mr. Banner as well, before looking down at the notebook. It was folded open and on the first line in elegant script were the words,

_So how was your first day at Forks High?_

I stole another glance at Edward and he gave me a breath-taking, crooked grin and nodded at the paper in encouragement. My heart immediately started hammering away in my chest. He wanted to talk to me! I took a deep, steadying breath and leaned my head forward in an effort to hide my burning cheeks behind the curtain of hair that fell past my shoulders. I said a silent prayer that my hand wouldn't be visibly shaking as I reached over to write on the next line.

I made it through the day and even avoided any and all potential personal injuries. That makes for a pretty good day in my book.

My messy scrawl looked like chicken scratching under his perfectly formed lettering. The contrast wasn't wasted on me as I realized the two of us sitting at the lab table looked very similar to the words on the page in front of us. He was the very epitome of perfection. He was beautiful, elegant and every movement he made was done with a natural grace. His clothes, a pair of dark washed jeans and navy blue oxford over a white under shirt, were simple but obviously expensive and they draped across his gorgeous frame like they were custom-fitted for him. His eyes seemed brighter and lighter than I remembered them. They reminded me of the topaz in the tennis bracelet Phil had given Renee a couple of Christmases ago. Even his messy copper-colored hair seemed to be artfully mussed into perfection.

I, on the other hand, was just plain old, clumsy Bella. I'd whined to Leah for almost an hour about imaginary cramps in an effort to play hooky from school, not giving up until she threatened to call Charlie and tell him he needed to find me a gynecologist. Leah definitely didn't fight fair. With barely enough time to get to school before the bell rang, I'd thrown on the first pair of jeans and the first t-shirt I'd come across. The jeans were old, light blue, a tad too snug and beyond distressed; the seams at all of the pockets were frayed as well as the hem at the ankles. There was an 'almost hole' worn in both knees. The t-shirt turned out to be an old one that Renee had bought me but I'd never worn to school in Phoenix. It was off white with orange ribbing at the neckline and around the cap sleeves. It had a picture of an owl holding a tootsie pop and the words 'How many licks does it take?' below it. My hair was twisted up into a messy bun on top of my head. I tried to reign in the groan as I realized just how awful I must look.

Yes, Edward Cullen was perfection and I was his antonym. I was abruptly brought back from my inner self-loathing at the sound of him clearing his throat. I realized he'd written something new as he nudged the notebook closer to me.

Surely it takes more than survival and a lack of injury to constitute a good day?

I chuckled to myself as I scribbled my response.

Not when you're as accident-prone as I am. Truth is I'm a total klutz. I tend to know the pharmacists and the ER staff at the local hospital on a first name basis.

I heard him snicker as his pen flew across the paper.

Perhaps you've met my father then, Dr. Carlisle Cullen? He works at Forks General, spends a lot of his time in the emergency room.

I immediately wondered if Dr. Cullen was half as beautiful as any of his adopted children. Maybe making it the summer without a trip to the ER hadn't been such a great thing after all.

Actually, much to the shock and general disbelief of my friends and family, I've been in Forks for three months and haven't visited the hospital yet. I expect the insurance company will be calling Charlie soon to find out what's going on.

We continued like that for the rest of the hour and then for the rest of the week. If we could do so without getting into trouble we'd talk quietly, otherwise he'd pull out the notebook. We had it almost half filled by the end of that first week. He asked me hundreds of questions, ranging from what brought me here to how I liked living with Charlie vs. Renee, and he really listened to my answers, whether they were verbal or written responses.

Leah wasn't exactly supportive of my budding friendship with Edward. It was Saturday morning and we'd just finished breakfast and decided to sit out back and enjoy the last of the rare sunshine. It was supposed to rain later and we secretly hoped it ruined Embry and Jessica's trip to First Beach. Leah was rifling through a plastic tub of nail polish that we shared. I'd told her about our conversations and about how he seemed to be as curious about me as I was about him. I even told her about the feeling I got whenever he was near. She handed me a purplish color without looking up and continued digging until she found what she was looking for.

"All I'm saying is that everybody seems to steer clear of the whole family Bells. You have to admit they seem… different. I get that you really like him. I just don't wanna see you get hurt." She pulled her long raven black hair up into a ponytail and turned to face me with an odd look on her face. "It's not like he's the only guy at school that's interested in you, and you said yourself that he probably doesn't like you 'that way' anyway. What about that Mike guy? Jake said he obviously has it bad for you, or that guy Eric that Embry was telling me about?"

She took my hand and led me down the stairs and out the back door. She led me to one of the two rattan lawn chairs and pulled the other one directly in front of me. She busied herself putting a coat of paint on my stubby fingernails.

"Why are you even bothering?" I asked in a frustrated huff. "You know I'm just gonna chew it back off."

Leah looked up at me just long enough for me to see her roll her eyes before returning her attention to my fingers. "I keep hoping that you'll stop biting them Bella. Do you know what a disgusting habit that is?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Yes mom," I teased her.

The rain came a little sooner than we expected and chased us inside as soon as Leah finished painting her own nails. We went to Forks Diner for lunch and stopped at the video store on the way back to Charlie's. We spent the remainder of the weekend on Charlie's couch with junk food, a box of tissues and a stack of our favorite chic flicks.

But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep my mind off Edward Cullen.

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A/N2: Remember reviews are love, and get rewarded with teasers!  
What'd ya think?  
~Sonia


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** I have to tell you that I'm really excited about where we are in the story. Thanks to each and every one of you for reading and especially to those of you who take the time to let me know what you think. You all rock.  
I've never tried to write anything like this before and these next couple of chapters were a little harder to get out than I expected them to be. I don't wanna spoil anything, so I'm gonna stfu for now and let you read.

SM owns all things Twilight - even if my Leah is WAY cooler than hers :D

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**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Twelve:

Leah

How much more fucked up was shit gonna get? I mean a girl could only take so much right? I thought the whole reason we were there was Bella. Keep an eye on Bella. Keep Bella safe. This was our sole purpose until Sam told us otherwise. Don't get me wrong; I didn't begrudge the assignment at all. In fact, there's a chance I would've never even met Bella if things had worked out any differently and I couldn't imagine not having her around.

The problem was that I was only one third of 'Bella's guard' and the other two thirds seemed to be in heat. Yes, I did know that that's not how it works. But, to say the very least they were definitely doing a lot more thinking with their little heads, than with the heads that were equipped with a brain. At school I only got to see Bella at lunchtime. In that sense it kinda sucked being a year ahead of her. This shouldn't have been a problem, because Jake and Embry were in a lot of her classes.

Yeah.

Well…

Embry and that Stanley bitch had become practically inseparable, a fact that annoyed the holy hell out of both Bella and I. I couldn't even complain about the fact that they were always making out in front of us, because at least that kept the bitch from talking. She had one of those high-pitched voices and she did that baby talking all the time. Fortunately she never talked about anything worth listening to, because five minutes into the conversation, it was all I could do to refrain from clocking her and telling her to shut the fuck up already.

Then there was Jake; I got that his feelings were hurt. He put his heart out there and found out the hard way that it doesn't always pay off to do so. Shit, I doubt you'd find anybody anywhere that gets that more than I do; but if it's meant to be it will be, and if it's not… Well if it's not it won't, no matter how much you want it to. You just can't fuck with fate, another priceless gem I have firsthand knowledge of.

He didn't see it that that way. He thought she still hadn't gotten over James and the whole unresolved mess that that turned into. He thought he could give her some time and space and maybe even make her jealous by whoring around in the meantime. Dumbass. He was sadly mistaken. Bella lost a little more respect for him with every new bimbo. If there was ever a chance for the two of them he was quickly destroying it; she wasn't jealous, she was disgusted.

To make matters worse, we were expected to 'make nice' with the local bloodsuckers. Really? Would Spiderman sit quietly next to The Green Goblin and miss the opportunity to rid the world of one of the vile creatures he was put here to destroy? I think not.

It got better still! My soul sister slash best friend, Bella Swan, was totally crushing on one of them. What the fuck is with this girl and leeches? I mean at least James was human at first right? How the hell would we be able to protect her when she seemed drawn to the very type of thing that was hell bent on destroying her? She drove me crazy with her obsession over the 'Greek God,' as she'd taken to calling the bloodsucker. She was killing me, but when she talked about him, I couldn't ignore the way her eyes glazed over, or the way her voice took on that far off 'dreamy' tone. She had it bad and while I did make the obligatory, warning remarks and prayed that it was just a silly schoolgirl's crush; I couldn't bring myself to actively get in her way.

That might have been the most fucked up part of the whole situation.

Monday morning, Bells didn't offer any objection to me doing her hair and makeup for her. I loved going through the 'girly routines' with her, she always seemed so much more confident afterwards, which was crazy, because she was already gorgeous. I'd never really been into stuff like that before, the whole hair and makeup bit had just never been my thing; but I'd used it as a ploy to hang out with Bella a couple of times early in the summer and found myself enjoying the girly-time more than she did more often than not.

She wore a pair of her new, dark washed jeans and a navy blue corset-style shirt with a sheer white blouse under it. I slipped her a pair of black heels that I'd convinced her to buy, but she rolled her eyes and grabbed for her blue ballet flats instead. I knew she wouldn't wear the heels to school, but if I'd offered her the ballet flats she would've gone for her sneakers. Gotta aim high with Bella.

Tuesday morning I was sitting in Trig, and as I wrote the heading on the top of my paper, I realized the date, September tenth. That meant Bella's birthday was Friday, the thirteenth. I couldn't help but chuckle at the superstitious implications. I knew she was hoping no one would remember, but she was outta luck there.

I called home between classes and arranged to have my mom pick me up at Bella's after school. I spent most of the evening with her and Emily, planning and organizing Bella's seventeenth birthday party. We decided that since she hadn't had a chance to really get to know any of her classmates yet, we'd keep it to her father and her La Push family. I knew she'd want us to keep it simple, if we did anything at all, so we did. Bella was a simple girl and it was the simple things in life that made her happiest. No over-the-top decorations, just friends and family getting together to celebrate someone we were all crazy about. She'd pretend to be pissed and she'd blush like crazy, but she'd love it and I knew she would. She'd just never admit it.

I filled the guys in on my plans for Bella's birthday the very next morning. Both of them were too self-absorbed to do anything other than offhandedly commit to being there. Embry was sucking face with Jessica, one hand lost up under her black, vinyl, mini skirt and Jacob was wrapped around some skank named Lauren. She was all oohin' and ahhin' over his 'big strong muscles', I left before the nausea got the best of me.

Assholes.

I decided that a nice long chat with our beloved Alpha was long overdue. I'd have to rectify that this weekend. This shit was getting old. Those two needed to regain their focus, and if Sam couldn't get them to do it, I'd just have to neuter their asses myself.

Wednesday and Thursday Bella and I ditched the guys at lunchtime. We hung out in the library and worked on some of our assignments. Without her knowledge, I'd already cleared it with Charlie and she was going to spend the weekend with me in La Push after her birthday party. I hadn't made any concrete plans, but I definitely didn't want us to be stuck doing homework.

I caught a ride home from school with the guys each afternoon in order to get things ready for the party, but I always ended up back at Bella's before bedtime. She was a little suspicious after it happened twice, but when I pointed out just how little time I'd actually spent at home in the past couple of weeks, she let it go easily enough.

Emily was a huge help; she'd offered to take care of almost all of the food. I almost felt guilty over just how excited she was about helping as much as possible. We'd been more like sisters than cousins once upon a time, before she met Sam; and while I sincerely held no grudge, our relationship just wasn't ever the same.

Thursday evening I borrowed my dad's truck and drove into Port Angeles. The cake was finished and Seth had managed to convince mom to let him stay home from school the following day to help her blow up balloons and hang some streamer. The only thing I needed to do before heading back to Bella's, was to pick up her gift.

I stepped into the local jewelry store and quickly found what I was looking for. I made my purchase and left the jewelry store. On my way back to the truck, I spotted the bookstore across the street. I detoured without making a conscious decision to do so, and found myself walking inside a moment later.

It was a small store and I browsed the aisles for several minutes, not sure what I was actually looking for. I came across a small section with several titles dedicated to local histories of the surrounding areas. That was when I spotted it. I flipped through the pages and debated for all of thirty seconds, before heading back to the front of the store. There was a selection of bookmarks next to the cash register, and I immediately spotted one with a beautiful silvery wolf on it. I smiled and grabbed that as well.

I paid for my purchases and returned to my truck. Happy with the gifts I'd chosen, I sang along with the radio as I made the long, and otherwise boring, drive back to Forks.

Friday morning, I woke up with an unexplainable sense of foreboding. The room was still cloaked in darkness and the digital display on Bella's alarm clock read 4:19. I rolled onto my side and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to force myself back to sleep.

Instead, I heard Bella whimpering and the sound of her tossing and turning fretfully in her sleep. She mumbled softly, but I couldn't make out what she said. I sat up from my pallet on the floor to look at her restless, writhing form. She'd been plagued by nightmares almost every single night during her first month or so in Forks, but I was pretty sure she hadn't had one in weeks. There was no doubt that she was having one right then, as she groaned and twisted around in her bed, tangling the sheet around her legs.

I crawled up onto the bed beside her and lay my hand on her arm; it was damp and slick with a thin sheen of perspiration. I leaned down to whisper soothing words of comfort into her ear, but instead of calming down she flinched away and cried out in her sleep.

"No! Please!" she whimpered.

"Bella," I spoke softly as I took hold of her shoulders and gently shook her. "Bella wake up," I urged her.

She gasped and bolted upright as her eyes fluttered open. She looked around the room wide-eyed and panic-stricken until she realized where she was. She fell back onto her pillow, and seemed to focus on steadying her breath.

"Hey," I whispered, "it's ok."

She nodded but didn't say anything, just turned onto her side facing her bedroom window and closed her eyes.

I lay down behind her and wrapped my arms around her. She was trembling and I could feel the pounding of her accelerated heartbeat. "Was it-?" I started, unsure if I could say his name without further upsetting her.

"James." She finished for me, almost immediately. "He's gonna find me Leah. He won't stop until he does," she said with conviction.

I propped myself up on my elbow in order to see her a little better. I could feel the tiny warm droplets, as her tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto my arm. "Has anything happened that you haven't told us about Bells?" I asked, unable to imagine her withholding anything like that.

"No," she replied simply.

"Are you sure?" I asked, "I mean why are you so freaked out all of a sudden, if nothing new has happened? I'm not criticizing you or anything Bells, I just… I want to understand." I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, wishing with everything I had that I could somehow bring her the comfort she so thoroughly deserved. "Do you wanna talk about the nightmare?"

"Leah…" Her voice was weary. She sighed deeply and continued staring out the window instead of meeting my gaze. "I swear nothing has happened. Do I keep secrets from you? No." Her voice dropped several octaves as she went on. "It's just a feeling I have. Like I woke up knowing that James was coming." I felt her shrug, "I don't know. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe a little more sleep will help." She did still sound awfully sleepy, "Just until the alarm goes off," she mumbled, and closer her eyes.

She nestled into me and I did my best to sooth her by smoothing her damp hair down her back until her breathing steadied and she drifted back to sleep. _'What a crappy start to your birthday,'_ I thought.

Between her nightmare and the awful feeling that I'd woken up with, I knew I needed to talk to Sam about Jacob and Embry sooner, rather than later. I could've dismissed the nightmare OR the ominous feeling without a second thought, had either occurred on their own. For both of us to, on some level, sense something amiss, I couldn't help feeling like it was some sort of cosmic warning.

When I decided she was sound enough asleep that I could get up without waking her, I carefully slid out of her narrow bed. I dressed quickly, grabbed my cell phone and quietly slipped out of her room and down the stairs. I heard Charlie moving around in the kitchen and stepped in to bid him a good morning and help myself to a cup of the coffee he'd just brewed.

"Morning Leah," he smiled warmly and patted me on the arm as he walked past to take his seat at the kitchen table. He glanced toward the doorway and lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Everything all set for our birthday girl?"

I smiled and nodded, taking a sip from my mug. "I was just getting ready to call and check in to make sure they're all set in La Push," I offered, holding up my cell phone.

"If it turns out you need anything last minute, you just give me a call and I'll take care of it. You gals have done too much already, not that it goes unappreciated mind you. Although Bells might decide to skin ya alive," he added with a thoughtful chuckle.

"No worries there Charlie, we're blaming the whole thing on you," I winked and walked headed back out of the kitchen to the sound of his light-hearted laughter. I made my way through the living room and out onto the front porch to call Sam.

He picked up after the first ring, so I was pretty sure I hadn't woken him, in spite of the fact that it was just after five in the morning. "Hello?"

"Hey Sam, it's Leah," I started.

"Leah? Is everything ok?"

"Well," I floundered for an indecisive moment before taking a deep breath and steeling my resolve. "No, Sam, everything is not ok. I was planning on waiting until this weekend to talk to you but… I… I just feel like I need to do it now." Once I started talking it was like a dam had opened up. Every ounce of my frustration and irritation came pouring out of me as I expressed my disappointment and disgust with my pack brothers.

"Ok, Ok… Look, Jacob and Embry are due in from patrol any minute. Why don't you just head out into the woods behind Charlie's and phase and we'll sort all this out?"

I hadn't phased since school started and while my inner wolf desperately longed to be free, I needed to avoid the pack mind for a little while longer. If they knew Bella was crushin' on a bloodsucker, they'd probably force her into home schooling or something. I was hoping she'd come to her senses and allow the situation to work itself out before the others felt the need to get involved.

"No," I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to like what I had to say. "You listen to me Sam Uley, I've tried to talk to those numbskulls on several occasions and it hasn't done any good. I know you said that I was here to keep them in line, but that, my beloved Alpha, is **your** job. I will do everything in my power to keep Bella safe and you know that as well as I do, but you'd better straighten those boys out. I'm going with the 'if you're not with me you're against me' philosophy on this and if they don't start acting like her god damn protectors then I'll be more than happy to treat them like the enemy."

"Lee-Lee!" He gasped, shocked by my outburst.

"Don't Sam, just… Don't. You talk to them. Make them get their priorities straight before something bad happens and they end up with blood on their hands. I can't live with any on mine."

"Ok. I'll talk to them, tomorrow. That ok? That way everybody has a good time this evening."

"Thank you," I replied curtly and then closed the phone without another word. It would have to do.

I stepped back into the house to find Charlie sitting in his favorite chair tying his work boots on. "Everything set?" He asked brightly.

"Yes sir," I replied as brightly as I could force myself to sound.

"Good to hear," he said as he stood and shrugged into his jacket. He grabbed his gun belt and fastened it around his hips and offered me a mildly awkward one-armed hug as he reached for the door. "Six thirty right?"

"Six thirty," I confirmed, and he was gone.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to force out the negativity and think happy thoughts for Bella. It was her birthday and at the very least she deserved to get through the day without any of my moody bullshit. I opened my eyes and felt marginally better as I took off up the stairs to wake up the birthday girl.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Bella

I was walking across the school parking lot, rushing to get out of the rain while simultaneously trying not to slip and fall into the nearest puddle. I'd nearly reached the sidewalk when I faintly heard the sound of my name being called. The voice was velvety and familiar and I instantly spun around, looking for _him_. The lot was surprisingly empty as I scanned across it for the beautiful face that belonged to the melodic voice. He'd never spoken to me outside of our Biology class before and there was no denying the surge of hope that swelled deep within my chest when I heard his voice for the second time.

He was standing on the far side of the parking lot, near the tree line. His mouth turn up into that beautiful crooked grin when he realized I'd heard him and he waved me over. I turned and headed toward him, biting down on my lower lip and trying to keep the butterflies that were swarming in my stomach at bay.

As I drew nearer, he turned and headed into the woods. I picked up my pace and continued to follow him, curious as to where he was going. A moment later I realized he'd disappeared from sight. I stopped and called out to him, but the only answering sound was that of the crickets chirping and the raindrops falling through the trees.

"Edward?" I called out again as I heard a rustling sound just ahead of me. There was no response, although I was quite certain he should've heard me. He couldn't have been _that_ far ahead of me. I continued to walk forward until I came to a small clearing. Standing there, seemingly unaffected by the rain, was the boy who'd ruled my dreams since the day I first laid on eyes on him, Edward Cullen.

He stood with his back to me, but something about his stance told me that he knew I was there. I heard another familiar voice calling out to me from the direction I'd come from. I looked over my shoulder, but saw nothing but the trees. When I returned my attention to Edward, something seemed different. I couldn't put my finger on what it was at first; but as he slowly turned around to face me, I gasped as I realized my error.

The bronze hair faded to a dirty blond and instead of those beautiful golden orbs, I was met with a familiar pair of blood-red eyes. Cold, calculating eyes that immediately made me feel like a hunted animal, helplessly staring up at a hungry predator.

James.

He smiled and started to chuckle darkly. His laughter sent a chill down my spine as he took a step toward me, causing me to take a step backward.

"Izzy, Izzy, Izzy…" He leered. "Did you really think you could hide from me? Did you think I'd give up on you so easily?" He shook his head and gave me a disapproving look. "You should've had more faith in me Izzy."

I realized he was still advancing on me, and there was only a few feet separating us by then. A whimper escaped my throat as I took another step back.

"Are you trying to get away from me?" he asked, his tone somewhere between amused and annoyed. "I follow you all the way to this dinky little Podunk town and this is the hello I get?"

He lunged and with icy hands he grabbed my arms and roughly pulled me into his rock hard embrace. One of his hands trailed up my arm and he crooked a finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him. His smile was dark and dangerous as he pushed my hair back, away from my neck. He lowered his head and pressed his firm lips against my own in a chaste kiss. He then trailed cool, feather-light kisses down to my chin and along my jaw. When his lips found my neck he inhaled deeply and I felt his mouth twist into a smile.

"You still smell divine," he whispered against my skin. I gasped then, as I felt his cool, wet tongue slide between his lips and he licked the length of my neck, from my collarbone to my earlobe. He took another deep breath, his chest rumbling against mine as he hummed happily. "And you taste like pure heaven," he whispered huskily.

I felt his teeth scrape against the soft flesh of my neck, and involuntarily let out another whimper.

He pulled back enough to stare into my eyes again, and I felt the familiar fog taking up residence in my fear-addled brain. "Are you afraid of me, Izzy?" he asked softly.

I nodded as he bent his head back down, chuckling as he returned his mouth to my neck and throat, where he kissed, licked and sucked the tender skin. I felt his teeth scrape against me again and I tried to twist to free myself from his vise-like grip. It was all in vain however, and I was quick to realize that my struggle only seemed to further excite him. I felt his mouth open over my jugular and immediately knew with unexplainable clarity and certainty, that he was going to bite me.

I pushed against him with every ounce of effort that I could muster. The only words I could manage were a pathetic, "no! Please!" But there was no escaping his iron hold on me.

"Bella." He never called me Bella. It was almost always Izzy with James. If he was angry, he'd call me Isabella, but never Bella. I couldn't wrap my head around why he'd start doing it now.

"Bella wake up," I heard, and realized it wasn't James' voice I was hearing at all. It was Leah's…

I gasped and bolted upright in the bed as my eyes fluttered open. I looked around the room feeling momentarily panic-stricken until I realized where I was. I fell back onto my pillow, and focused on calming down. _It was only a dream. It was only a dream_ I chanted internally.

"Hey," Leah whispered from beside me, "it's ok."

I felt her lay down behind me and she wrapped her arms around me. "Was it-?" she started, but abruptly cut herself off. She didn't want to bring him up.

"James." I finished for her. "He's gonna find me Leah. He won't stop until he does," I told her; unsure as to how I could feel so certain about it. The tears immediately started flowing down my cheeks.

She propped herself up on her elbow and I felt her staring at me in the darkness. "Has anything happened that you haven't told us about Bells?"

"No," I assured her.

"Are you sure?" she asked, "I mean why are you so freaked out all of a sudden, if nothing new has happened? I'm not criticizing you or anything Bells, I just… I want to understand. Do you wanna talk about the nightmare?"

I did and I didn't. Part of me was holding firm to the belief that as long as I acted like James wasn't a threat, he wouldn't be. Another part of me, believed without a doubt that he would find me, just like he said he would. Yet another, albeit a tiny part of me, wished he'd just do it and get it over with.

"Leah… I swear to you nothing has happened. Do I keep secrets from you? No. It's just a feeling I have. Like I woke up knowing that James was coming." I thought about all the Bella-sitting that I was already being forced to endure. I didn't think I could handle them to try stepping that up any, so I tried to backtrack. "I don't know," I sighed, "maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe a little more sleep will help, just until the alarm goes off."

I snuggled into Leah and the last thing I remember was feeling her hand in my hair, soothingly smoothing down my tangled locks.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

"Yoo-hoo! Bella Bella Belllll-aaaaa!" I groaned, turned away from the sound her voice and buried my head beneath my pillow. Not that I thought it would stop her. "Bellllll-aaaaahhhh!" Leah called out in the most annoying, singsong voice I'd ever heard.

She was quiet for a minute and I thought that maybe she'd given up and decided to give me a few more minutes. I really should've known better. Just as I went to peek out from under the sanctity of my pillow, she pounced. She jumped onto the bed and nearly bounced me right off from it. She threw my pillow onto the floor and was bouncing like a five-year-old on a trampoline and chanting, "Wakey wakey!!! It's uppy-uppy time! It's uppy-uppy time!" over and over again.

I had never seen her act quite so ridiculous and in spite of the fact that I was gonna wet myself if she didn't stop bouncing and let me go pee, I found myself overcome with a paralyzing fit of giggles; a fact which did nothing for my near-bursting bladder.

"Stop!" I pleaded between gasps for air and bouts of giggles. "Please Leah! I swear I'm gonna pee all over you if you don't!" That did it. She immediately hopped off the bed and burst into a fresh bout of laughter as I sprang from the mattress and all-out ran to the bathroom, barely getting there in time.

I felt kind of gross after waking up all sweaty earlier, so I decided to go ahead and shower and brush my teeth before leaving the bathroom. Standing under the hot spray of water, my thoughts returned to the previous night's dream. I didn't understand why the nightmares would return now. I thought I'd gotten past all of that. I shoved it to the back of my mind as I shut the water off and reached for my towel, deciding not to worry about it unless it became a recurring situation.

When I returned to my room I found Leah, all ready for school and digging through my closet. She emerged with a victorious looking smile on her face and a black pencil skirt and white cotton blouse with tiny black buttons in her hand.

"Don't fight it Bells," she said tossing the outfit in my direction. "You liked it enough to buy it, the next phase is actually wearing it."

I sighed, rolled my eyes at her and opened my mouth to argue. She'd actually convinced me to buy it during our Seattle shopping trip; but, not wanting to argue with her, I shut my mouth and shrugged my shoulders. I got dressed and even succumbed to Leah doing my hair without argument. She brushed a hint of gray shadow on each of our eyes and dabbed some gloss on her own lips before touching some mine.

When she was finished, she dragged me over to stand in front of the full length mirror that hung on the back of my bedroom door. I had to admit that I was surprised at the young woman that stared back at me. She was pretty, very pretty; and when she smiled at me, she was prettier still. It was difficult to accept that I _was_ that young woman, but as I stepped away from that mirror I felt lighter somehow.

Leah was dressed much more casually, I noticed; in her favorite black skinny jeans and lavender cotton t-shirt. Her long, black hair hung straight down her back. She'd had quite the effect on the male population at Forks High, but she never paid any of them any attention.

"Hey Bells, how 'bout you grab some clothes and we hang out at my house tonight?" She asked as we gathered our books and put them into our respective bags.

"Sure," I smiled, "I'll just have to call Charlie this afternoon and let him know." I grabbed my overnight bag and hurried around the room getting my belongings together.

Five minutes later I was grabbing my jacket and we were walking out the front door. It was raining, which wasn't by any means a surprise, but it struck a chord within me as I remembered that it had been raining in my dream as well. I forcibly shook my head and mentally chastised myself as we climbed into Leah's truck and started off for Forks High School. I wasn't going to let one bad dream get to me, but no matter how many times I said it, I couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was suddenly creeping over me.

* * *

**A/N2:** Sooo... Can you feel it??? It's comin'. What's comin'? Something... definitely something. How obvious am I? Or do I just seem that way to me because I'm privvy to all the facts? Or maybe it's not what you're thinking. Because I don't know what you're thinking, unless you tell me! I do answer questions, though not always as straightforwardly as ya might like, but I DO always answer them. :P  
Don't forget, the 'short list' for the final voting round will be posted 7/18. Voting runs 7/22-7/26. There were tons of fan-tab-ulistic stories nominated, so make sure you go check it out!  
And as always thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU for reading.  
Reviews = teasers, just hit the little button and tell me what ya think.  
Xoxo,

Sonia


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** So this was a little harder than it was supposed to be, because Leah absolutely refused to let it go down the way I'd originally planned. We battled over this shit and to make a long story short, she won. I THINK I'm sassified with the end result, so I'm not gonna bitch too much.

As always SM owns all things Twilight

* * *

**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Thirteen:

Bella

Leah parked her truck and shut the engine off with a sigh. We sat there for several minutes in a comfortable silence, both staring out the windows and across the giant puddle previously known as the student parking lot. I was immediately grateful for the nearly knee-high boots I'd allowed myself to be talked into wearing.

"At least it's Friday," Leah said pulling the hood of her black raincoat up over her hair.

I grunted my agreement, adjusted my own hood and shouldered my bag before clamoring out of the truck and into the dreary drizzle. We walked across the parking lot and I felt a chill run down my spine as I took note of how vacant it appeared.

I stopped, my stomach having twisted into a nearly painful knot, and looked toward the trees half expecting to see Edward or… I stopped myself from following that train of thought, and let loose the breath I hadn't realized I was holding, when I saw nothing but trees in the distance. I silently scolded myself for being paranoid and foolish. The dream was just that - a dream, I reassured myself.

Leah had just stepped onto the sidewalk when she realized I was no longer with her. "Hey," she called, her voice thick with concern, "you ok Bells?"

I forced a tight smile onto my face and nodded as I briskly crossed the rest of the lot to join her. "Sorry," I mumbled as I caught up, "I just spaced out for a second," I shrugged and looked away quickly, praying she wouldn't push for more.

Luck was on my side, for once, and she just shook her head and continued walking. When we arrived in front of my building, where we usually parted ways, she looked up and smiled at me. "Cheer up," she said with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Screw the rain, and the puddles and even the bad dreams. It's Friday, T-minus seven hours and counting until the weekend."

I chuckled and shook my head at her, leaning forward to give her a quick hug and reveling momentarily in her extreme warmth. "See you at lunch," I called out as she turned and headed toward her class. She waved over her shoulder and picked up her pace, turning around the corner and out of sight.

I hurried into the building, slipping and sliding precariously on the wet linoleum. By the end of first period I was vehemently cursing Leah's choice in wardrobe. The slick floors were the equivalent to a minefield to someone with my grace and poise, or lack thereof, and the boots I wore offered absolutely no traction.

I literally slid into my first period classroom, clutching desperately at the doorframe in an attempt to keep myself upright. And who other than Mike Newton would walk in behind me and graciously offer to help me to my seat. I felt my skin crawl as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, holding me much tighter than necessary, as he led me down the aisle and to my desk. He grinned and winked down at me as I slid into my seat, before swaggering back to his own.

Embry, of course, walked in right behind Mike, and witnessed the whole thing. He wore a huge smirk as he sauntered to his desk, eyeing me with obvious mischievous delight. After flopping into his desk he turned to me, and I could feel my face already burning in embarrassment at the teasing that was sure to come and likely not to end for a very long time.

He quirked a brow and quietly scoffed, "Newton? Really Bella?" and then turned back around to face the front of the room with a chuckle. I huffed and rolled my eyes at the back of his head, resisting the urge to verbally deny his ridiculous implication.

Over the course of the hour, Mike 'dropped his pencil' no less than a dozen times; each time trying to catch my attention by waving, coughing, even quietly calling out to me from his spot several seats up from mine. I pretended not to notice, and when he persisted, I eventually shot him the meanest look I could muster, before pointedly ignoring him.

Embry loved every minute of it. I thought he was going to burst in his seat as I watched his shoulders shake in silent fits of laughter. When Mike wasn't looking, Embry would turn around and wiggle his eyebrows, or say things like, "So how long has this been going on?" and "Wonder what Jake'll say when he finds out?"

When the bell rang, Mike immediately shot up from his seat and offered to 'help me' to class. Embry almost lost it at that, until I shot him my all-time best death glare, at which point he opted to intervene.

"Hey. Newton," Embry said gruffly as he rose from his own seat and grabbed his books. He plucked my messenger bag up from the floor before pulling me up from my seat and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. Mike's stance shifted as his eyes rested on Embry's hand on my arm before looking back up to nervously meet Embry's stone-cold glare. "Bella walks to History with me and Jake," he said simply, and led me out of the classroom. He managed to hold off his laughter until we were out of the room and a safe distance away from the door, but then I thought he was going to fall over laughing.

He was still hysterical when we met up with Jacob outside of our History class. Jake stared at me unblinkingly for a moment, and then lowered his eyes quickly to the muddy linoleum of the hallway. He stepped forward to give me a brief hug and almost whispered, "You look great today Bells," in my ear as he pulled away.

His attention was then brought back to Embry, whose fit of laughter showed no signs of stopping. "What'd I miss?" He asked with a wide grin as he watched his friend struggle for air amidst his laughter.

I simply shook my head and rolled my eyes, continuing into the classroom without remark. As I carefully made my way to my seat, I caught sight of Embry, still standing in the hallway, clutching Jake's black leather jacket and gasping for breath as he tried to describe 'the look on Mike Newton's face,' and the events leading up to it.

I groaned internally as I sat down. Between the two of them I'd be hearing jokes and lewd remarks about Mike Newton until we graduated. By the time they came in, snickering of course, the tardy bell was ringing, and I threw myself into Dr. Andrews' lecture on the American Civil War.

I'd never been more grateful for having Jessica Stanley in a class with me, as I was in that class on that day. I'm sure her uncanny ability to distract Embry played a significant role in my surviving the hour with even a shred of dignity intact.

When the bell rang they walked me to French class, like they always did, and again I found myself grateful to Jessica and her 'distractions,' as I only had to listen to the teasing from Jacob. When we reached the door to my classroom, Lauren was waiting in the hallway. She stepped in between Jake and I and snaked her arm through his, gently bumping me aside with her hip and a snide grin. I chose to ignore her and said goodbye to the guys before turning into the room.

During the first half of class I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. I glanced around the small classroom and was surprised to find the dark-haired girl I remembered from Seattle, Edward's adopted sister Alice, staring at me with an odd expression on her face. When she realized she'd been caught staring, she quickly looked away. As class progressed I cast her several sideways glances, and found her staring at me almost every time.

I wondered then if perhaps Edward had said something to her about me, and my heart sped up a bit at the thought. When the bell rang signaling the end of class, I made it a point to offer her a friendly smile when I caught her eye upon leaving the room. _Couldn't hurt to score points with the sister_, I thought, chuckling to myself as I headed to Calculus.

I nearly collided with Embry as I turned into doorway of our Calculus classroom. He smirked and leaned down to whisper with a chuckle, "Too busy daydreaming about Newton to watch where we're going?"

I pulled my arm forward and sent an elbow in the general direction of his gut. I winced at the impact and rubbed my elbow soothingly as the sound of his mocking laughter followed me to my seat.

Alice entered the classroom several moments later and took her seat on the other side of the room. Just like during the previous class, I found myself watching her out of the corner of my eye whenever I had the chance; and just like during the previous class, she spent a considerable amount of time looking at me with a puzzled expression on her face. My curiosity was peaked, and I decided I'd ask Edward about her during Biology.

When the bell rang, I scurried out the door as quickly as I could without falling. I hated being stuck walking to lunch with Embry, Jessica, Jake and whoever his flavor of the day was. The whole fifth wheel thing was incredibly uncomfortable, and since Jake's latest interest appeared to be Lauren Mallory, I was even less interested in walking with them than usual.

I was one of the first into the lunch line. I made my way through quickly, grabbing an apple and a bottle of lemonade and pausing just long enough to pay for my selections. Most of the tables were still empty as I made my way across the cafeteria and out the double-doors that led out onto the terrace. I tried to ignore the disappointment I felt as I glanced at the Cullens' still empty table on my way out. I reminded myself that I'd get to see Edward in my next class and headed to our usual table.

I laid my jacket across the bench, still damp from the morning's rain, and sat down at our table. Embry and Jessica were whispering to each other and she kept giggling and looking around like she was afraid someone would overhear them. She grinned at him and nodded her head and he immediately sprang up from the table, pulling her with him.

"We're gonna…" he hesitated, eyes darting around, obviously trying to think up an explanation for their impending departure.

"Go for a walk," Jessica finished for him with a giggle.

"Yeah, we're gonna go for a walk, we'll catch you later." He wrapped his arm around her waist, and the two of them took off.

I shook my head at their retreating forms and turned to see Jacob and Lauren heading my way. I desperately looked around for Leah, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Lauren shot me a nasty look as the two of them took their seats. Jake set his jacket down first like I had, but Lauren was apparently oblivious to the wet bench, at least until she sat down on it.

"Shit!" She cried out as she quickly stood back up, running her hands over her wet bottom.

I couldn't hold back the snort and chuckle that escaped my lips at the shocked and disgruntled look on her face.

She glared daggers at me. "Think that shit's funny do you?" She spat at me. "Get over it Bella. It's no secret that you're just jealous that I stole Jakey out from under your nose." She smiled smugly and tossed her hair over her shoulder, leaning closer to Jacob.

Jacob almost choked on his milk at her words, and immediately shot me an apologetic look. He swatted her off of him and scooted an inch or two away, turning his head to give her a reproachful look.

I took a deep breath and tried counting to ten, but it did nothing to calm me. I was sick and tired of her nasty looks, the snickers when I passed her in the hallway and her over all crappy attitude. I'd never done anything to the girl, yet she'd seemed to have issues with me on first sight.

"Lauren," I addressed her as I rose to my feet. "I have no idea what your problem is, but I sincerely recommend you work on solving it. I don't know you and you don't know me, so don't go assuming a goddamn thing about me. For your information, **if** I was interested in Jake in that way, I promise you, you'd still be sitting inside the cafeteria desperately trying to find somebody to pay some attention to you." I grabbed my bag and slung it across my shoulder and snatched up my jacket. "You are an ugly, petty, little girl and if you don't stay the hell away from me, I will kick your skanky ass all over this school. And Lauren… My dad **is** the sheriff. Think I'd get in much trouble?" I asked quirking a brow at her. Charlie would so kill me if he ever found out that I'd said anything close to that, but she didn't need to know that. I leaned forward placing one hand on the table and sticking the index finger of the other right in front of her nose. "Don't. Mess. With. Me." I said pointedly. With that I spun on my heel and stormed off, leaving my apple and my drink at the table, along with a very shocked Jacob Black.

I decided to walk out to Leah's truck and drop my bag off. My Biology book was still in my locker and I already knew that we were going to be doing a lab in class. My gym clothes were in my gym locker, so there wasn't much point in lugging it around.

After depositing the bag under the seat of Leah's unlocked truck, I laid my jacket against the truck door and leaned back against it. I took in a lungful of the fresh, clean air, and briefly wondered why Leah hadn't shown up for lunch, she was usually one of the first to get there.

A few minutes later, I pushed off the truck and started heading back across the lot toward the buildings. I couldn't force myself to go back to that table and face Jacob and Lauren again. I knew Leah would be upset when she got there and found me absent, but even the threat of her temper lacked the power to move my feet in that direction. So instead of heading back toward our damp, bimbo-infested table, I strolled off in the opposite direction, toward the gymnasium.

I glanced toward the football field, beyond the gym and to the right, and remembered that the track was located directly behind the gym. I slid my arms into my jacket and decided to walk a lap or two to pass the remainder of the period.

Along the way, I heard a disturbingly familiar giggle, and out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Embry and Jessica beneath the bleachers to my right. I looked away and quickened my pace until I was out of hearing range, shuddering at my luck in even coming across them, and not wanting to worsen it by being seen. A moment later I stepped onto the track and started leisurely making my way around it, content in listening to the sounds of the birds and the gentle rustling of the wind through the nearby trees.

**Leah**

I quickened my pace as I stepped out of the building and headed toward our table; cursing Mr. Sweeney and the 'little chat' he'd asked me to stay behind for. I despised US Government; the room stank due to the fact that Bloodsucking Barbie was one of my classmates, and it was boring as hell. The homework assignment had become of blur of compromises and ratifications as Bella droned on and on about the beauty, glory and wonder that was Edward Fucking Cullen. I sighed at the memory and let out a frustrated huff. I'd blown the homework assignment and today's pop quiz. _'Maybe Edward Fucking Cullen should do the extra credit assignment to ensure that my grade wasn't affected,'_ I thought sourly.

I hoped Bella wasn't overly annoyed, I hated leaving her alone with Jake, Embry and their (not-so) significant others. They were generally shit for company these days and could make anyone uncomfortable at times with their outrageous displays of 'affection', if you could call it that.

When I turned the corner and our table came into view, I stopped dead in my tracks. I shook my head to clear it from the onslaught of dark thoughts that overcame me on seeing that Jacob was sitting at the table alone. Bile rose in the back of my throat as I sprinted the remaining distance to stand beside Jacob. He looked up on hearing my approach, with an odd expression on his face, something between shock and amusement.

"Where's Bella?" I questioned immediately.

His expression became curious. "I figured she would've hunted you down." He answered flatly.

"Why would she hunt me down Jake?" I asked. "We meet right here every day."

My heart was pounding fiercely in my chest and my earlier sense of foreboding had returned tenfold. "Do you know where she is or not?" I demanded, my voice rising with my sense of panic. "And where the hell's Embry?"

Jacob shrugged, "Bella **was** here. Embry and Jessica disappeared as Lauren and I were coming to sit down. Lauren sat on the wet bench and Bells got a giggle out of it. Lauren turned vapid and Bells…" He shook his head and grinned, "Well, Bells flipped that shit on her ass," he chuckled. "Basically told Lauren to go fuck herself and stay the hell away from her. You would've been proud Lee-Lee," he finished with a sad smile.

I felt my mouth twist into a wry grin and fleetingly thought about how much I would've paid to see that shit, before refocusing on the fact that Bella was missing and I had a really bad fuckin' feeling about it.

"Jacob," I said forcefully, ensuring that I had his full attention. "I haven't seen Bella. She's obviously not with you, and if Embry and the skank snuck off together, I doubt she's with them. You following me?"

His expression tensed as he nodded his acknowledgement. "Wanna split up and look for her?" he offered.

I nodded and thought of the first place I wanted to look. "You go see if she went on to her next class and if she's not there, check the parking lot; maybe she went to my truck. I'll check the lunchroom and around the gym. You have your phone?" I asked pulling mine out to show him I had it. He pulled his out of his pocket and nodded. "If there's any kind of problem call me, I'll do the same. Oh and you need to call Embry and tell him he needs to put his dick back in his pants and help us find Bella. I can't believe you two let her wander off!" I ranted before spinning on my heel and heading into the cafeteria.

Once inside the double doors, I quickly scanned the room for any sign of Bella. I then looked for 'their' table and quickly found it directly to the left of me. I was almost disappointed that she wasn't sitting there, having finally worked up the courage to approach him outside of their classroom.

I half-jogged across the room and into the lunch line to verify that she wasn't in there hiding or, god forbid, buying something to eat. I wasn't the least bit surprised when I didn't find her there. I hastily walked back across the lunchroom toward to double doors that would lead me back outside.

I'd just reached the doors, and raised my arm out to push them open when a sudden gasp to my right brought my attention back to the bloodsuckers' table. The tiny, dark-haired, female appeared to stiffen in her seat. She was grasping the table with both hands and staring off into space like she was having some sort of 'episode' or something. The blond male, I assumed he was her mate, was rubbing her arms reassuringly and whispering into her ear.

The big, burly one and Bloodsucking Barbie were staring at the small one with strange expressions, a mixture of concern and curiosity, best I could tell. But, it was Bella's bloodsucker, Edward, whose reaction confounded me the most. I heard a hushed 'No!' escape his lips and he practically sprang from his seat.

The small one dropped back into her seat, episode seemingly over, and looked up at Edward and then over at me. I lowered my arm and turned to face them expectantly, although what exactly I was expecting I didn't have a clue. She turned back to him and they exchanged meaningful glances for a moment, as though they were speaking without words, and I briefly wondered if bloodsuckers could read minds. At that very second, Edward turned to look at me with a raised brow.

I shook my head at the obvious coincidence and realized that both Edward and the tiny dark-haired pixie were approaching me. I shuddered, as their sickly sweet stench grew stronger as they neared.

"You don't smell especially appealing yourself," he said as the two of them stopped directly in front of me.

"Edward!" the pixie admonished, as I stood gaping. She looked as anxious as I felt when she turned her gaze to me. "Could we speak to you? Outside?" she asked in her childlike musical voice. "Please?" She urged, almost desperately.

Every fiber of my being screamed no. Animal drinkers or not they were my mortal enemies. The idea of walking outside of the security of the crowded lunchroom with not just one, but two bloodsucking leeches – alone… It went against everything I knew.

My instinct however, told me to go, in spite of everything else.

So I did.

I pushed the heavy door open and the three of us walked out into the damp and dreary day. We walked in silence for a moment, the air between us thick with an urgent tension as he headed toward the gymnasium. Once we were beside of it, they stopped and the pixie started speaking quickly.

"OK. This is a lot to swallow and I get that but we don't have a lot of time so I need you to listen carefully or Bella's going to die." I felt a growl rumble low in my chest at the perceived threat, and took a defensive step backwards. She rolled her eyes and breathed out an exasperated sigh, "**We're** not going to… Geez! Why would I even… My god… Just listen! There are others, like us but different, you know, human drinkers. They're after her, and they're going to get her."

I relaxed my stance and stared at her, "How do you-?"

"Please! Listen! I think it's today! She's wearing the same outfit!" I gaped in confusion and she must've noticed because she decided to backtrack a little for my benefit. "I see things," she explained, tapping her forefinger to her temple. "Visions, the future. It's all relative but… I saw Bella being attacked by two of our kind in the woods behind the school," she exclaimed, throwing her tiny little arms around as she spoke animatedly. "In my vision she was wearing the very same outfit that she's wearing today. That means it happens today!"

"Fuck!" I cursed, as the nagging sense of impending danger ran through me again.

I pulled my phone from my pocket to call Jacob, hoping I could explain the urgency of the situation without having to go into detail about my conversation with the mind reading, future-seeing bloodsuckers. As I scrolled through my contact list, the most ear-piercing, earth-shattering shriek I'd ever heard rang out through the air.

"Bella!" I gasped, dropping my phone and setting off at a dead run toward the rear of the gym. I quickly glanced around as I ran, trying to figure out how many witnesses were at risk, and was grateful that the area appeared vacant.

It was then that I realized that the tiny vampire was running toward the trees, some fifty plus yards in front of me, and Edward was nearing the tree line almost a hundred yards ahead of her. That fucker was fast! I pushed myself harder, cursing the limited speed of two legs and barely resisting the urge to phase before reaching the shield of the trees.

I screamed for Jacob and Embry at the top of my lungs as I picked up on an unfamiliar flavor of vampire stench. _Fucking pixie knew what she was talking about,_ I thought as I neared the trees, eyeing the spot where the bloodsuckers had disappeared from view.

I slowed myself and finally stopped at the edge of the forest, straining to hear the sound of voices coming from just a few feet inside the cover of trees. I crouched down to peer between the branches, and saw Edward and his pint-sized companion talking to someone. I couldn't make out the 'visitors' until I adjusted my position to look between a different pair of branches.

Standing between trees, were two unfamiliar leeches, one male and one female. I could see half of the male's face; his skin was chalky pale with a hint of olive to his complexion. His hair was black and cropped short like most of the boys on the reservation wore theirs. I fought to stave off the instinctual growl that threatened to give away my location as I tried to quickly plan my attack.

There were two of them. I acknowledged the fact that I was outnumbered, but I definitely had the element of surprise on my side. I glanced around quickly, hoping to see Embry or Jacob approaching. When I didn't, I silently cursed them both and vowed to have the skin of their testicles made into a belt.

As that particular thought crossed my mind, and brought a brief and likely sinister smile to my face, I noticed Edward cringe slightly. My new position allowed me a view of all four of them, although I could only see the back half of the unknown female. She appeared to be a little smaller than Bella, her hair a dark brown and stopped above her shoulders.

'_That's right,'_ I thought at Edward, remembering the exchange of meaningful looks that had taken place between him and the pixie in the lunchroom, _'you can hear me can't you?' _I asked silently.

He appeared to look up into the branches above, and then quickly looked at the ground beneath his feet. I realized that he was nodding his acknowledgement without alerting the newcomers.

I was impressed with his wits, with their gifts, and their obvious over-eagerness to help. I was however, slightly begrudging of the fact that since I'd thought all of that, he knew it. I saw him smirk a bit at that.

I tried to take in as much of the scene in front of me as possible. Gauging the distance between us, and the time it would take me to get to them. I realized then that I still hadn't seen Bella.

I looked to Edward and silently asked, _'Where's Bella?'_

He looked directly at the female; still half blocked from my view, and nodded his head infinitesimally.

'_The female has her?_' I wondered, and again he acknowledged me with a minute affirmative.

'_But _s_he's ok?_' It was the last thing I needed to know and of course, the most important thing of all. I was apprehensive about how slow he was to confirm, but after a moment he did and I nodded in self-affirmation. The only thing left was to get her to safety and rip those fuckers to shreds.

I could see the left half of the female, but I couldn't see Bella. It seemed safe to assume that Bella was to the female's right. If I could take the female off guard and come in between the two vamps…

I planned and plotted as quickly as I could while Edward and Alice kept the visitors occupied with chat of permanent residences and alternative lifestyles. A few excruciatingly slow, yet desperately fleeting moments later, when I felt confident enough in the plan I'd concocted; I looked to Edward. He furrowed his brow and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment with a look on his face I could only describe as resolute. He bowed his head and gave a small nod.

As soon as I stepped past the tree line I phased. For the briefest of moments my thoughts went to my newly shredded R&R jeans. The ones I'd been buying when we'd run into the local leeches in Seattle. These fuckers were paying for my goddamn jeans, if I had to take it out in flesh.

I leaped immediately onto the female, taking her by complete surprise, and ripping her left arm clean off. I shoved Bella away and into the dainty, waiting arms of the bloodsucking pixie, who cradled her bridal style and fled with her.

"Her name is Alice," Edward scoffed as he threw the male into a nearby tree, ripping one of his legs halfway off in the process. He'd thrown himself at the male just as I'd charged into sight and lunged at Bella and the female. I had to admit that it was perfectly timed.

"Thank you," he called out smugly from his position, leering over his opponent, behind me as I pounced onto the female a second time. Being around a mind reader was one of those things that got old really fast, I realized. I snarled at his smugness, and then pointedly redirected all of my frustration into the complete and utter destruction of the bloodsucking bitch in front of me.

She screamed over and over for Felix, and I assumed that that was the name of the male that Edward was fighting with. I felt an unbelievable surge of power with every ounce of flesh I ripped away. This was what I was meant to do, and few things in life can even compare to the euphoria of being in one's element like that.

I tore off chunks of flesh in a near blind fury. She'd come here to hurt my best friend. I felt no mercy whatsoever as she begged for me to just kill her. A clear liquid seeped from her wounds, and I quickly realized it was venom. I tried to avoid it, but when I couldn't I found that the burning it caused my flesh only fueled my rage at this vile creature. She picked the wrong girl to fuck with, and I would not allow her the opportunity to make that mistake again. I would however, make sure she died slow enough to fully appreciate the weight of her error.

A foul, pungent odor engulfed my senses and I caught sight of the pyre Edward had constructed. He was tossing the final pieces of 'Felix' onto the flame. The putrid smoke that rose from the fire was thick, heavy, and purple in color. My momentary fascination with the smoke and its flames allowed the female an opportunity, and she was quick to take it.

She threw me off of her with, what had to be, every ounce of strength she had in her small battered body. I wouldn't have thought it possible, she only had one fucking arm. But, one second I had her pinned, and the next I was flying through the goddamn air until I came crashing into a tree. The definitive, snapping sounds of bones breaking pierced my ears and I was engulfed in a strange, warm, numbness before I hit the ground with more snapping and breaking sounds echoing in my ears.

I _knew_ that I was hurt, but I couldn't _feel_ a damn thing as I sprang straight back up to my feet and sailed through the air at that bitch as if I were a four-legged Supergirl or some shit. It was cool as hell. Trust me, because I fuckin' saw it. I don't mean saw it like I was doin' it either. It was as if I was watching me do it… from above me… err something… It was probably one of the singularly strangest things I've ever experienced. Ever.

I landed on that bitch jaws to jugular, and I clamped down and ripped her fucking head off. Just. Like. That.

As her head flew off and landed with a thump next to Edward's foot, the headless remains kept struggling with me as I crashed to the ground on top of it. Edward was there in a flash and quickly set about tearing the remains of her to bits and adding the pieces to the stinking, burning, pyre.

Just as Edward gently withdrew the lifeless torso out from under me, Jacob came thundering through the trees. It was obvious that he grievously misinterpreted the situation, because as soon as he spotted us, he literally exploded into a huge, vicious, snarling, mass of fur and rage.

He lowered himself on his haunches; teeth bared and ready to spring at Edward. I mentally screamed for him to stop, but his fear and rage were so prevalent that he either could not or would not hear me.

I heard Edward speaking to him, but I couldn't make out his words. All of a sudden, the numb warmth that had encompassed my body lifted, like a blanket being stripped away, and the excruciating pain that I felt was like nothing I could've ever imagined. I was compelled to curl into myself, but any attempt at moving was met with more unbearable searing pain. I tried to scream, but no sound came, and the effort left a fire in my lungs and chest.

I heard a faint, pathetic-sounding whimper, and detachedly realized it was coming from deep within me. I felt Jake's fur brush across my face and heard a familiar voice in the distance, but I couldn't focus on anything as the darkness took me over.

Moments, or hours later, I could faintly discern several familiar voices nearby. I felt myself being lifted and the pain was almost more than I could bear. I tried to call out for Jacob, needing to make sure that Bella was ok, but I couldn't force myself to form words.

I felt someone near my ear and heard Edward's smooth reassurance, "Bella's fine. Alice is taking her to my father to be checked over as a precaution."

The next voice I heard was unmistakably Sam's, and he seemed to be talking to Jake. I heard a heart-wrenching sob and a desperate cry that sounded like Jake, but different. Then Sam's voice again, comforting and familiar in tone, but the words… The words he spoke made no sense. Jacob phased, I sensed it more than saw it, and with a final, forlorn howl, he took off, running through the trees.

I'd been unable to phase back and my heart shattered when I understood his pain. Jacob had found Embry, as Edward and I battled the leeches, but Embry and Jessica were already dead. The words swam in my head, until they were all I could grasp. My brother, my friend… When the darkness came to claim me again I welcomed it. My final thoughts were of Embers, his quick smile, his boyish laughter, his eternal optimism, and the fact that he was gone. Forever.  


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**A/N2:** Sooo... I've never written anything like that. Hit the button and tell me what ya think.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** WoW... You guys really do kick all sorts of ass. You know that right? Last chapter was the MOST reviewed chapter so far! Suffice to say A LOT happened, and I have to tell you guys how much I **LOVED** hearing your speculations as to how it all went down. You are without a doubt some sock-rockin' mo-fo's. I heart you all. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me. All questions will be answered & all truths will be revealed... Eventually. I promise.  
It's going to take a bit to sort everything out, so please bare with me as we do. Charlie & Edward were the loudest voices in my head, so we started with them.  
Special thanks to my beta Twike, I am forever indebted to her and her magical red pen.

As always, SM - she owns all things Twilight - Me - pssshhh I'm just playin around.  
Enjoy!!!

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Prey For Protection

Chapter Fourteen:

Charlie

I was heading out to meet Stan at the diner for lunch when my cell phone rang. I pulled it off my belt and glanced down at the display. I smiled when I saw Sam Uley's name on the caller ID, having spoken to him a couple times lately in regards to Bells' little surprise party.

"Chief Swan," he greeted me. My smile faded immediately as I noticed the edge to his voice. "We have a problem. Can you meet me at the high school?"

"Of course," I replied, trying to ignore the sudden knot in my stomach, "what's goin' on?"

"I don't have all the details right now, just meet me at the school. No lights or sirens please, we need to keep this quiet as long as we can."

His choice of words and something about the way he spoke them left me feeling even more ill at ease.

"This doesn't have anything to do with Bells, does it?" I asked, praying that the answer was no, but somehow knowing better.

"Bella's fine," he assured me while avoiding the question.

"I'm on my way," I told him curtly, "but damn it Sam, I'd like to have some clue as to what I'm heading into."

I heard him sigh into the phone, and knew that he knew more than he was letting on. A minute passed, neither of us speaking as I pushed through the side door and out into the precinct's parking lot. I was equal parts worried and pissed off at his vagueness. Another sigh from his end and he finally broke, knowing I wasn't going to just accept what little he'd given me.

"Looks like a couple of Bella's old friends showed up at the school," he reluctantly explained.

"What?" I demanded, my voice rising to a near yell as I stopped mid-stride on the way to my car. "You said they wouldn't be able to get anywhere close to Bells without you guys knowing about it. You said there was no way for them to get past your patrols and into town at all!" I ranted into the phone.

"Chief…" he started, but I was too overcome with anger, fear and concern for my daughter to listen.

"You gave me your fuckin' word Uley," I interrupted, quickening my previous pace. "I swear to God, if there's one scratch on her sweet little head, you'll answer to me. I'll be at the school in ten minutes. I expect to find my daughter unharmed, and if James was at that school, you'd better have a damn good explanation for how he got there. We're talking act of God here because you swore to me that you could protect her from everything else." With that I ended the call and quickly dialed Stan's number as I slid into the cruiser. I cancelled our lunch plans and asked him to meet me at Forks High School instead, as I pulled onto the street.

I obliged Sam's request to keep the lights and siren off, but I drove as if they were on. I turned into the school's parking lot and parked in one of the visitor spaces near the front office. I stepped out of the cruiser and tipped my hat at Ms. Cope as she emerged from the office. She smiled and waved before turning and heading off toward one of the buildings.

I glanced around but saw no sign of Sam. I huffed and grabbed my cell phone ready to call him to find out where exactly he wanted to meet, when I heard a vaguely familiar voice calling out to me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Quil Ateara, one of the boys from the reservation, jogging my way and looking all kinds of distraught. I hooked the phone back onto my belt and met him a few feet from the cruiser.

"Chief," he nodded in greeting. One of the first things I noticed was that his eyes were red and swollen and his cheeks were streaked with tears. He'd obviously been crying but offered no indication as to why. I decided not to question him about it, and fell in step with him as he turned to walk back the way he'd come, gesturing for me to follow.

We walked past the office and toward the gymnasium, neither of us speaking. As we stepped around the corner of the gym, I saw Sam and his friends, Paul and Jared, standing in the field in the center of the track. I quickened my pace, anxious to find out what the hell was going on.

They visibly stiffened when they saw me coming, and as we drew closer, I noticed the tormented expressions on all of their faces. Quil shared a meaningful look with Sam and then hurried off toward the trees.

For an incredibly tense half a minute, no one spoke. We all just stood there staring at each other. When my impatience got the best of me I opened my mouth, and said the first thing that came to mind, "Where's my daughter?" needing to see with my own eyes that she was unharmed.

Sam looked more than a little reluctant, but he was the one to answer. "She's fine, but she was already gone when I got here. One of the Cullens took her to their house to have Dr. Cullen check her over, just in case."

He stepped aside then, and my attention was drawn to a heap on the ground behind where he'd been standing. It only took a heartbeat for me to recognize the heap as a body. The other boys stepped aside allowing me to step closer, and I immediately recognized Earl Stanley's daughter, her neck obviously broken and her throat ripped out. Just a few feet from the girl's body, laid Embry Call, his body twisted unnaturally, his neck also obviously broken. His throat remained intact, although there was a chunk of flesh missing from his cheek.

My initial thought in regards to the scene was that it looked a lot like an animal attack. My mind went back to the newspaper clipping Billy and Sam had shown me about the alleged attacks in Phoenix, and a cold chill ran down my spine. "What happened?" I asked turning to Sam.

He sadly shook his head. "I don't know. I suspect the Cullens might be able to shed some light on some of it. We're not exactly on good terms, so I can't help ya there. Leah's hurt, I don't know how bad, one of the Cullens took her to see their doctor also."

His voice hardened every time he referenced the Cullens. I was aware of the animosity that a lot of the folks from La Push had for the doctor and his family, some even refusing treatment at the hospital he worked at, but I had no idea why. The Cullens had moved to Forks two years prior, and I'll admit at first I was concerned that five teenaged orphans might stir up a ruckus in our quiet little town, but in reality, they were all straight A students and some of the most polite, well-behaved kids around. There'd never been a single problem with a single member of the family. Truth of the matter was, we were damn lucky to have the good doctor workin' at our dinky little hospital, instead of some fancy-schmancy place where he'd likely make five times the money. I opened my mouth to enlighten him when I realized he was still talking.

He told me what he did know, and that all of it came from Jacob Black, who'd since run off. Probably the smartest thing the little prick had done all day. The five of us walked a little ways into the woods, and they showed me the spot where the two attackers, I just couldn't bring myself to think vampires, had been burned. The air was filled with a pungent stench and a thick, smokey, almost purple haze. On the ground, between two tall cedars, was a spot charred black by the fire. There were a few blackened sticks, still smoldering, and adding more of the putrid smoke to the air. I told Paul to make sure it was extinguished, and headed out of the trees, desperate for a breath of untainted air.

Sam was right on my heels and after filling my lungs with a deep breath of cleaner, fresher air, I spun on him.

"What makes you so sure these…" I fumbled for the right word, "folks, are from Phoenix?" I demanded, and then, without giving him so much as a second to answer, "And if it is them, where the hell are the others? Bells said there were five of 'em; you said there were two. How do you know the other three aren't hiding in the trees, ready to try again tomorrow?"

"We've searched the woods, Charlie," he assured me. "There are no other bloodsuckers in at least a thirty mile radius.

"And I should just take you at your word? Did you know these two were here? Because in spite of the fact that you said that there was no way any of them could get close to her, they slipped past your watchdogs, and almost snatched my daughter away right under your goddamn noses. You'll have to forgive me for not having much faith in you and your words at the moment," I spat at him.

He appeared to consider arguing with me for a moment, but instead just opened and closed his mouth wordlessly before lowering his gaze, shoulders slumping in shame.

By the time Stan showed up, I'd realized that I had what little useful information I was going to get from Sam. I spoke with Stan and instructed him to rearrange the scene a bit to support the animal attack story before officially reporting it. We went over what few facts we had and got our stories as straight as we could with our limited knowledge. With that done, I promised to call and check in with him later and headed back to the cruiser, setting out for the Cullen residence.

As I drove, my mind ran rampant. Hundreds of scenarios played out in my head. The two attackers, the two vampires, I forced myself to acknowledge, had to have been part of the group from Phoenix. How many of their sort could there really be out there anyway? I couldn't imagine it to be a very high number. I cursed Sam and his pack several times for allowing them to even get close to her.

I made the left onto the Cullen's long private drive and almost stopped as my next thought occurred to me. How much did she know now? What did she see? Oh, fuck me. Sam had assured me that she wasn't hurt, but what kind of Bella was I going to find waiting for me? Would she be scared shitless and traumatized at seeing someone torn to shreds? Would she be pissed off at having been deceived all this time as we made sure she was safe? Would she even want to talk to me? What should I say to her? And what about the Cullens? What did they see? How much did they know?

By the time I pulled up in front of the majestic house, I'd worked myself into one hell of a tizzy. I had no idea what was waiting for me inside that house, no idea what kind of reception to expect from any of them. I stepped out of the cruiser and tucked in my shirt as I approached the front door.

Dr. Cullen answered my knock with a warm smile and gestured for me to come inside. "Chief Swan," he greeted, shaking my hand firmly, "always good to see you sir. I just hate that it's never under pleasant circumstances."

"Dr. Cullen, I'm sorry to impose on you at home," I told him, "but I understand one of your young'uns brought my daughter here?"

"Not to worry," he assured me, "and please, call me Carlisle. It was honestly no problem at all. My daughter, Alice, was concerned and brought Bella to me as a strictly precautionary measure. She was suffering from shock, so I took the liberty of giving her a sedative, but other than that she seems to be fine."

"My son, Edward, brought Bella's friend, Leah, here as well. She wasn't as lucky as your Bella. I've patched her up the best I can, but I'd really like to take her into the hospital for some x-rays. Maybe you can help me get in touch with her parents to get the necessary consent?"

I nodded, not at all sure if Harry Clearwater would agree to Dr. Cullen treating his daughter. He was a long time friend of mine, but he was also one of the most bull-headed, old bastards I'd ever known. He was among the folks that had avoided the hospital since Dr. Cullen joined the staff.

"Where is Bells?" I asked, looking around the expansive house and not seeing any sign of either girl.

He smiled and gestured for me to follow him further into the house. We started up an ornate staircase and he turned toward me, "We took Leah into the guest room, and Bella is resting in Alice's room. We wanted them to be able to rest peacefully and without interruptions."

We started down the hallway and he stopped at the first door on the right, tapping softly on the door before pushing it open.

In the middle of the brightly decorated room, on a queen-sized bed, lay my girl. I felt a tug on my heartstrings when I looked down at her peaceful, sleeping face. Her dark brown hair was all over the place, and there was mud and tear stains streaked across her cheeks. Her blouse was rumpled and the left sleeve was ripped off, leaving her pale, skinny arm completely exposed.

I didn't even realize I'd walked all the way into the room until I felt my knees come in contact with the bed. I gently lowered myself onto the edge of the bed and took her tiny hand in mine. I was caught up in my visual inspection of her, verifying what I'd already been told, and relaxing a bit upon seeing that she did in fact appear to be physically unharmed. I failed to notice the tiny dark-haired girl sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the bed, until she softly spoke up.

"I wanted to wash her off, but once she finally settled down I didn't want to disturb her," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I was so scared for her," she confessed, her voice trembling, "I-I hope you don't mind me bringing her here. She seemed ok at first, just scared, but then she just started screaming and shaking and crying. Then, all of a sudden, she just stopped and went all limp. It was like she passed out, but her eyes were open and kind of glazed over."

"It's fine sweetie," I assured her. "I'm glad you got her to someone that could help." I tried to couple my words of reassurance with a smile, but I just couldn't force one. She seemed to get the gist of it though, and she offered me a weak smile in return, her honey-colored eyes full of understanding and concern.

Dr. Cullen cleared his throat from behind me and I turned to see him step up beside the bed. "My daughter, Alice," he said, with a nod toward the tiny girl. He looked back to Bella, "The sedative I gave her will have her out for the next several hours," he informed me in a quiet voice. "With your permission, I'd like to keep her here until tomorrow for observation. Should she wake up and there be a recurrence of the previous episode, I'd like to be on hand to assist with her; perhaps even medicate her again if necessary."

I saw the reason in his request, and I had to admit that if Bells was gonna wake up and have any sort of episode, I'd rather not be forced to have to deal with it on my own. The problem was, I couldn't do that to him and his family. Leaving Bella here would jeopardize their safety, but how could I possibly explain that to him? I snickered internally as the imaginary conversation played out in my head. It started something like:

"_I appreciate everything you've done, but leaving my daughter here with you may very well subject you and yours to a vampire attack. I know… I know it sounds crazy, but you'll just have to trust me. Embry was killed and you saw what happened to Leah, and they were werewolves! Yeah, we won't go there either, but I'd hate to think what could happen to you folks."_

No doubt he'd end up sedating me too and calling the paddy wagon for my crazy ass.

Nope. I couldn't explain the whys, but I couldn't leave her there. With the betrayal of the wolves, we were on our own in this mess. I had no idea what to do, but I was determined to keep her safe. James' little group was already down from 5 to 3. The odds had already shifted a bit. He would not get his hands on her, come hell or high water. I'd figure out the hows as we went.

"About that," I started, trying to come up with an acceptable reason to decline his offer. "I-I think I'd feel better if she came home with me. I appreciate everything you've done, please don't think I don't, but…"

"Let's step out so as not to disturb her," he said quietly, interrupting my stammering.

I stepped back out of the room with him and followed him a little ways down the hall. He stopped at another door, knocking softly before entering and silently beckoning me to follow.

I walked into the room, which had been set up to resemble a hospital room, and froze. Lying on a hospital-style bed, connected to several beeping machines and a mass of wires, was Leah Clearwater. I couldn't withhold the gasp that escaped my lips at seeing that strong, beautiful, vivacious girl, broken, bruised and looking on the verge of death.

My heart ached for her. She'd become like a sister to my Bella, and like a daughter to me. Her current condition was testament to the fact that she, unlike her 'pack brothers,' had not been party to the betrayal. She had risked her life for my Bells and had apparently nearly lost that wager. There was no end to the love and gratitude I felt toward her at that moment, and I silently vowed that I'd get her parents to agree to treatment by Dr. Cullen – whatever it took. I'd call in every favor Harry owed me if I had to. Dr. Carlisle Cullen was the best damn doctor we had, and at the very least, Leah deserved the best.

"I'll talk to Harry," I assured him, my voice cracking with the myriad of emotions I was trying to process.

A sound in the doorway caught my attention, and I turned to find Carlisle's youngest son entering the room. He approached his father and the two of them spoke in hushed voices for a moment. When they were finished he looked to me and smiled somberly. "Chief Swan," he said quietly as he extended his hand in greeting. "I'm very pleased to meet you sir. My name is Edward. Edward Cullen."

I nodded and accepted his firm shake, glancing back over my shoulder toward Leah. "You the one that brought Leah here?" I asked him.

"Yes sir," he replied. "I wasn't sure what else to do. Her injuries appeared to be quite extensive, and I knew that my father would be able to help her."

"Well, thank you son." I said, feeling both humbled by and grateful for their acts of kindness. "Thank you all. For everything."

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Edward

When I saw the image of beautiful Bella in the hands of the red-eyed strangers flash through Alice's head, it was all I could do to refrain from running to her at vampire speed, witnesses be damned. "No!" I hissed, rising from my seat. That vision was immediately followed by one of Bella's raven-haired Quileute friend and I fighting in the parking lot.

We both then turned to see the girl in question staring at us, and Alice was assaulted with another vision. This time the dark haired girl was following us, running to Bella instead of fighting us every step of the way.

_'We have to talk to her Edward, she'll let us help.' _Alice silently informed me.

I found myself, albeit begrudgingly, developing a certain regard for the young woman. She was incredibly beautiful, obviously very bright, and as she didn't hesitate to show as she pounced through the trees and onto the female vampire, knocking Bella to safety, she was not one to shy away from a fight. She was a true friend to the lovely Bella. From the moment our eyes met in the cafeteria, until she lost consciousness in my arms on the way home, her thoughts were of Bella and her safety. Except for a couple of brief moments when she thought about making a belt out of someone's testicles. I shuddered at the memory, not wanting to dwell anymore on that particular train of thought.

When I'd arrived home with the battered she-wolf in my arms, Carlisle had already sedated Bella. He checked Leah over and set about cleaning her many wounds. She didn't phase back into her human form until sometime after he'd cleaned her up and as best he could. Once the drugs he'd given her had relaxed her body enough, she'd phased back, naked no less.

I tried not to see anything, but as her transformation had been rather unexpected, I was caught off guard. More so than her actual nudity, I saw the damage done to her body. Some of the lesser cuts were nearly healed, indicating that the wolves, like us, healed quite rapidly. She was absolutely covered in bruises, varying in color from yellowish greens to blue and purple and nearly black. A splintered collarbone pierced through her flesh. Her arm hung awkwardly at her side, her shoulder obviously dislocated. The dark bruising over most of her torso suggested she'd damaged several ribs.

I forced my eyes away from her bruised and battered body, cringing as Carlisle set her shoulder properly. Even under the heavy medication, she screamed out in agony, clawing at Carlisle and myself. It was brief however, and she fell quiet and limp back onto the bed as Carlisle quickly bandaged her up and Esme slipped a white cotton dressing gown onto her.

I stole away to check on Bella, and found Alice sitting next to her, holding her hand, humming softly, and brushing a few loose strands of mahogany hair behind her ear. She looked so small and fragile lying in the middle of Alice and Jasper's queen-sized bed.

I wondered again at how such a sweet, delicate girl had found herself in the middle of such a dangerous predicament. The thoughts of the two we'd killed today had made it clear to me that this James would stop at nothing to get her back.

I watched her chest rise and fall with her steady breaths, listened to the sound of her heart beating, and breathed deeply in the scent of the wet dog mixed with a fruity sort of flower scent that I had come to know as Bella. The fruity flower made the wet dog considerably less revolting. Even muddied, tear stained, and wearing tattered clothing, she was beautiful. Sometimes, it seemed as if she got a little more beautiful every time I looked at her.

I'd come to love our time in Biology together. In fact, it had quickly become the highlight of my day. Spending that hour quietly chatting, passing silly notes, or sometimes just working with Bella on an assignment, brought me a ridiculous amount of happiness. I'd come home and retire to my room to reflect on the quiet sound of her laughter, or the sparkle in her eye, or the alluring flush of her cheeks. No matter how much I argued it with Alice, there was no point in lying to myself. I was quite smitten with Isabella Swan, and there wasn't much of anything I wouldn't do to ensure her safety. It occurred to me that the world would simply not be as bright without Bella's soft, glowing light in it.

I heard the sound of the police cruiser turning onto our drive, and hurried up to my room on the third floor. I washed up and changed clothes, discarding the tattered garments I'd worn during the fight. No sense frightening the poor man with my haggard appearance. He had enough to concern himself about without knowing I had anything to do with anything other than bringing Leah to my father.

As I headed back down to the second floor I could hear Carlisle and the Chief of Police in the guest room with Leah. The chief was positively grief-stricken as he looked over his daughter's friend; he was obviously very fond of her.

"I'll talk to Harry," Chief Swan said, silently vowing to convince his friend to 'get over himself' and allow Leah be treated.

I stepped into the room and stood next to Carlisle, he quirked a brow at me, wondering about my impromptu change of clothes, and I quickly and quietly explained my concern in alerting the chief of my involvement in the goings on at the school. The chief had turned as I made it a point to make some noise as I came into the room, and was still watching me as I spoke to Carlisle.

I stepped forward and extended my hand to him, "Chief Swan, I'm very pleased to meet you sir. My name is Edward. Edward Cullen."

He nodded and accepted my handshake, glancing back behind him at Leah. "You the one that brought Leah here?" He asked.

"Yes sir," I replied. "I wasn't sure what else to do. Her injuries appeared to be quite extensive, and I knew that my father would be able to help her."

"Well, thank you son. Thank you all. For everything."

I smiled at the small town Chief of Police, unsure how else to respond to his gratitude. I found it interesting that while I could get a general feel for his thoughts, I could only hear snippets clearly. Whatever kept Bella's mind from me was something she'd apparently inherited from her father.

I heard Alice gasp from down the hall; she'd had another vision. Chief Swan had no intention of leaving Bella in my father's care. He was going to insist on taking her home. _'He's worried about endangering us,'_ she informed me silently. Surely he knew that he alone didn't stand a chance against a vampire, much less a group of them.

I caught Carlisle's eye and explained the situation in words both too fast and too low for Charlie to hear. He silently mulled over the facts, _'He already knows about the existence of werewolves and vampires… He knows the dangers involved. Could we let him in on our secret? Let him know that we are more than capable of keeping her safe?'_

I scoffed at his internal monologue, "Have you gone mad? What he knows of our kind is that we feed off humans and want to kill his daughter. Do you honestly think he'll simply embrace the fact that we are, in fact, the same type of creature that's hunting his daughter? If we tell him what we are he'll grab her up and take off out the front door running and screaming."

_'Perhaps we should ask Alice?'_ he silently suggested. _'Maybe she's seen something useful.' _I gave a curt nod and scrambled to think of a way to detain Charlie, if only for a short time.

Carlisle laid a hand on Charlie's shoulder, and gestured for him to follow him back out of the room. I followed the two of them, and softly closed the guest room door behind us. In the hallway, Carlisle spoke in a concerned but friendly voice, he'd been thinking of stall tactics as well. "Chief Swan, perhaps you would consider leaving her here while you head out to La Push and get me that consent to treat Miss Clearwater. That way I can observe Bella a little longer and you won't have to leave her home alone while you go. I assure you nothing will happen to her here, and the longer I wait to treat Miss Clearwater, the greater the chance of her encountering complications."

The chief considered my father's words, weighing the risk of another attack versus the urgency of Leah's medical needs. He sighed reluctantly, deciding that he owed it to Leah to go. "Let me make a couple of calls, get a man out here to keep an eye on the house, just to set my mind at ease, and I'll go get whatever you need from Harry Clearwater. You have to promise to call me if anything changes with either of those girls," he insisted.

"Of course," my father agreed. "If I had an x-ray machine here, I wouldn't even bother with the consent form. I'd treat her to the best of my ability, consent be damned. As it stands, I don't have the equipment here, and trying to sneak her in for x-rays without consent to treat could cost me my position at the hospital."

Chief Swan nodded and excused himself outside to make his calls.

Carlisle was planning to call a family meeting as soon as Chief Swan left. He was the single most compassionate being I'd ever known, and since the chief already possessed knowledge of the existence of our kind, he felt it only right that we offer our assistance. He thought we could simply explain away the differences between others of our kind and ourselves with our alternative lifestyle. Being a fair and honest man, he would take it to the family and bring it to a vote.

I truthfully expected the chief would be out the door with his precious daughter in his arms, before the conversation was half over, but I said nothing as he turned and headed back down the stairs. I quietly slipped back into Leah's room, scanning her drug-warped dreams for more information about Bella and the vampires that had attacked.

I desperately wanted to check on Bella, but as Alice had pointed out, my gift was better focused on Leah and learning what I could. While I was capable of listening to the thoughts of everyone in the house, from whichever room I was in, Alice also pointed out that if I were in the room with Bella, I wouldn't be paying attention to anything or anyone else. I'd desperately wanted to argue with her and call her preposterous, but upon opening my mouth to do so, I realized she was right. How could one so small be so incredibly annoying?

I'd already established that the two attackers' names were Felix and Bree, two vampires from James' coven in Phoenix. I'd gathered as much from the thoughts of the visitors themselves. They'd only planned to catch a glimpse of Bella, though they thought of her as Izzy – Bella definitely suited her better. When they'd seen her walking toward the track all alone they decided to grab her and take her to James as a surprise. They'd expected to be well rewarded for the return of his beloved 'pet.'

Neither thought anything of the two they killed before trying to escape with Bella, so we'd have to find out if Bella saw what happened to Embry, the wolf, and the human girl, Jessica. I was quite certain that James was still in or around Phoenix, as neither vampire had any thoughts to the contrary. I had a feeling when his scouts didn't return; he'd come looking for them.

I heard the sound of Charlie's police cruiser pulling out of the drive, and a moment later I heard Rosalie's BMW approach. No sooner than I heard Rose, Emmett and Jasper enter through the garage door, I heard Carlisle call us all into the dining room. It was time for a Cullen family meeting.  
**

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A/N2:** Next up... we hear from a certain brown-eyed-girl.  
Whatcha' think? Hmmmm???  
Remember, reviews = Love **& **free whacks w/the teaser stick!!!  
Ch. 15 is already half finished.

~Sonia


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Here we go... We've got some answers coming **and** we finally get to hear from Bella. Or maybe it's because we get to hear from Bella... Either way... I want to take just a second to thank all of you for reading & give special thanks to those of you who take time to review. You guys totally brighten my day. Thank You.  
Xtra Special thanks to my beta Twike and her magic pen.

As always, SM - she owns all things Twilight - Me - I'm just trying to put the voices in my head to good use :P  
Enjoy!!!

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**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Fifteen:

**Charlie**

I stepped out into the misty, early evening air and sucked in a deep breath. I'd never been so grateful to Sue Clearwater in all my life. I walked across the damp grass of the Clearwater's front yard toward the cruiser and couldn't resist smiling at the memory of the scene that had transpired moments before.

Harry had been irate to learn that his daughter was on Cullen land, let alone being cared for by Dr. Cullen. He'd insisted that I drive straight back there and bring her home. I explained Dr. Cullen's concerns as best I could, but Harry was nothing if not a stubborn ole coot. The man refused to listen to reason.

Just as my patience hit its limit, his wife, Sue sprang from her place on the old plaid couch where she'd been a quiet observer until that moment. She was downright awe-inspiring the way she stalked toward her husband, her dark eyes trained on his as she verbally let loose on him.

"Are you honestly going to sit there and allow your pride to prevent Leah from getting the best treatment she can get? All your talk of loyalty and family and you'd turn your back on your own daughter?"

"I'm not-" Harry started to defend himself, but Sue wasn't having it.

"You're not turning your back on her? I'm no more a fan of the Cullen family than you are, but there's no denying that that doctor of theirs is the best around. You have Leah removed from his care and brought here to be cared for by the elders and you are turning your back on her. You're putting your personal feelings and your pride ahead of her needs. Do you want to be the one to tell Seth why his sister didn't get the care she needed?"

She stood glaring at him for a long, silent moment. When she spoke again, her voice wasn't much above a whisper, but her words were razor sharp. "I won't allow it. I love you with every inch of my soul Harry Clearwater, but **I** will turn my back on **you** before either of my children are denied something they need."

Sue looked up at me and extended her hand. "May I see the consent form please Charlie?" She asked, glancing back at Harry to judge his reaction. I handed her the slip of paper Dr. Cullen had asked me to have them fill out, and she grabbed a pen from the side table and set to work on it. A couple minutes later, she signed her name at the bottom with a flourish and returned the form to me.

"You tell Dr. Cullen to take good care of my baby," she told me, "and if there's anything else he needs you just let me know." She continued watching her husband as she spoke, her expression daring him to argue with her. Appearing content that he wasn't going to offer any further objections, she returned her gaze to me. "If you have time, I'd like to pack a few things for you to take to Leah."

I smiled and assured her it was no problem and she hurried out of the room. I looked at my long time friend; Harry's forehead was in his palm and his posture was defeated as he sat in his favorite brown easy chair. I wanted to ask him what everyone's problem was with the Cullen family, but instinctively, I knew he wouldn't be willing to explain it. I'd been through it before with him and Billy Black more times than I cared to count.

I glanced around the room, noticing the decorations for the first time. The interior was very festive looking with blue and silver streamer hanging from the ceiling and framing the doorways. There were balloons of assorted colors and sizes hanging from the walls and the chairs in the kitchen. The festive décor was a sore contrast to the heavy tension in the room.

Sue returned a short time later zipping up a large, black, canvas duffle bag. Her eyes darted to her husband as she handed it to me with a weary smile. "There are some fresh clothes, and her iPod, and a few other things she might want. I also stuck a list in there for Dr. Cullen, it has our phone number on it as well as both my and Seth's cell phone numbers." The concern she felt for her daughter was obviously outweighing her anger with her husband as she looked up at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Please tell him to keep us posted."

I nodded and shouldered the bag, looking around the room one last time as I prepared to say goodbye, anxious to get back to my own daughter. Sue excused herself and nearly ran up the stairs after saying goodbye. I started toward the door and was about to push it open when Harry's voice stopped me.

"You come to my house and demand that my daughter be left in the care of those… those monsters, even after she nearly died to save your Bella." He raised his head to look at me, his face drawn and his eyes void of their usual light. "Leave and know that you'll not walk through that door again until my Leah is back where she belongs."

I started to say something, but thought better of it. Instead I just nodded and left. As infuriating as he was, he was still one of my oldest and closest friends. It struck me as more than a little funny that the father of a girl who could turn into a giant dog would refer to Dr. Cullen and his family as monsters. I shook my head as I slid into the cruiser and started back toward Forks.

It was nearly six o'clock when I found myself turning back onto the Cullens' nearly hidden driveway. I dismissed Stan from 'guard duty' with a wave and promised to call him later. I parked in front of the large garage and stepped up onto their front porch. Before I had a chance to knock, the front door swung open and there stood tiny, little Alice Cullen.

"Hello, Chief Swan," she beamed and stepped back, beckoning me inside. She led me into the dining room; the walls were covered in light wood paneling that matched the expansive rectangular table sitting in the middle of the room. An elaborate crystal chandelier hung overhead, and the entire Cullen family was sitting around the long, maple table.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your dinner," I said, stepping awkwardly back into the doorway. I saw the largest of Dr. Cullen's kids chuckle as the good doctor rose from his seat to greet me.

"No interruption at all chief," he assured me, coming forward to shake my hand, "we were just sitting here discussing the events of the afternoon."

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, feeling strangely self-conscious under their gazes. I reached into my coat pocket withdrawing the yellow consent for treatment form he'd given me to have the Clearwaters fill out. I handed it to him and saw him exchange an amused look with little Alice, who'd returned to her place at the table.

"I take it things went well then?" he asked, smiling warmly.

"I don't know if I'd go so far as to say things went well," I told him, smiling a little again at the memory. "But we got done what needed done. The way I see it, that's really all that matters."

"Indeed," Dr. Cullen agreed.

"Oh," I started, remembering the bag I was carrying. "Leah's mother sent some things for her. She said she put a list of phone numbers in there for you in case you need anything else. She also asked that you keep her updated on Leah's condition."

"Really?" Dr. Cullen asked, taking the bag from me, "I'll be sure to do that."

"So how are they? Bells and Leah? They doin' ok?" I asked him.

"They are both doing quite well," he assured me. "Why don't we go upstairs and look in on them. I'd like to give your Bella something to ensure that she sleeps through the night. After the day she's had she'll-"

"Dr. Cullen," I interrupted, realizing I still didn't know how much anyone had seen of the attack at the school. "I don't mean to be rude. Lord knows I'm grateful for everything you've done for those girls, but what do you know about the day Bella's had?"

I turned and looked at Edward and then over to Alice, she looked more than a little nervous and appeared to almost shrink under my gaze. "What exactly did you two see out there?" I asked them.

Dr. Cullen laid his hand on my shoulder in a calming gesture, and I felt myself relax significantly. "Chief Swan, let's go check on the girls, and then we'll all sit down and discuss everything. You can ask Alice and Edward anything you want and I assure you they'll be fully cooperative. There's a few things we'd like to discuss with you as well, but I'm sure you'd rather see Bella first."

"Jasper," he called over his shoulder, "would you mind escorting us upstairs? There's no doubt the sedative I gave Bella has worn off by now, and I might require your assistance."

I glanced back as a tall boy with wavy, blond hair rose from his position next to Alice. He reached down and ruffled her hair playfully before joining us.

I chanced a curious glance at the doctor who explained, "If she wakes up distressed, I may need some help holding her down to medicate her. Jasper has a very soothing bedside manner, and I'd hate to have to ask you to restrain your own daughter."

I nodded, knowing I'd hate for him to ask me to do that as well.

We walked up the staircase in a relative silence. I worried again about how much Bella had seen and how she'd react to everything I needed to tell her. We stopped outside the door and Dr. Cullen stepped back giving me access to it. I took a deep breath, knocked, and waited.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

**Bella**

I felt as though I was struggling to free myself from death's dark clutches. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force my eyes open. I couldn't lift my arms or my legs. I couldn't even turn my head. It felt like some invisible force that bore the weight of the world was holding me down.

I heard something faint, almost musical, and vaguely familiar. I tried to focus on the sound, but it stopped before I could identify it, and a pressing silence took its place. I listened attentively, but the sound did not return. My fruitless struggles to regain control of my body had worn me out, and I soon resigned myself to the comfort and peace of the thick fog invading my head.

At some point later, I heard a soft, tinkling sound. I realized it was a voice, quietly whispering reassurances near my ear. I focused on the voice, desperately hoping it would lead me out of the darkness. It was soft and feminine and full of promises that everything would be all right. I felt my hair being pushed back off my forehead and a strand being tucked behind my ear, icy cold fingers grazing my skin and sending a faint chill down my spine.

The name Alice floated to the forefront of my mind and I realized the voice I was hearing belonged to Alice Cullen. Her frigid touch caused something within me to ignite, and a memory I'd forever wish to forget, came rushing back.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

I'd not much more than started around the track for the first time when I heard Embry calling out to me. I stopped and turned to find him and Jessica jogging my way. Jess was grinning from ear to ear, but Embry seemed a little tense as they made their way toward me.

I started walking toward them, until from the corner of my eye, I caught sight of movement just beyond the cover of the trees. I stopped and looked off in that direction, partially expecting to see Edward, partially expecting to see James and more than a little relieved when I only saw trees. I returned my attention to the approaching couple and forced a smile onto my face as I resumed my walking. I felt eyes on me, and my skin crawled under the scrutiny. I forced the feelings down as I joined them, chastising myself for being so paranoid.

"Hey Bella," Jessica said warmly as she moved to slip her arm around Embry's waist and nuzzle under his arm.

"Hey guys," I replied, maintaining the tight smile on my face.

"What are you doing way over here Bells?" Embry asked, glancing around before adding, "and all by yourself? Everything ok?"

I took a deep breath, preparing to tell them about my run-in with Lauren, when another movement in another part of the trees caught my eye. I closed my mouth and stared into the trees for a moment, watching for any other signs of movement. Just before I decided that I was hallucinating, it happened again. This time, however, there was no sudden blur. This time, someone peeked out of the trees, someone hauntingly familiar, someone I'd hoped never to see again. Felix.

He was gone as quickly as he came into sight, causing me to hesitate in telling Embry about it. It was as if he'd simply disappeared, which wasn't possible.

"Bells?" Embry pressed when I failed to respond.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the trees. I knew what I saw. Felix was out there, and if Felix was in Forks… James **had** to be nearby. My eyes raked across the tree line searchingly, desperate for confirmation, yet absolutely terrified of it. I saw nothing but the branches of the trees dancing in the light September breeze.

I closed my eyes for a second and swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. Nothing could have prepared me for what greeted me when I opened my eyes and turned to meet Embry's gaze.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, although in reality, I was acutely aware of the fact that it all happened impossibly fast. Over his shoulder, I saw a blur. He took a deep breath, his shoulders stiffening and eyes widening as his nostrils flared. He started trembling almost violently, and a split second before he could turn around to see what had caught my attention, two pale hands grabbed him; one grasped his chin, the other pressed into the side of his head. With a sudden twist, a sharp yet muffled, series of cracks pierced the air. I watched the briefest moment of shock cross his face before the light in his eyes faded. The pale hands disappeared and Embry's body fell lifelessly to the ground.

Jessica's slender frame buckled under the full force of Embry's weight, and she cried out in frightened surprise as she collapsed underneath of him.

A scream caught in my throat as I found myself staring into the familiar crimson eyes of Bree. She smiled, but it wasn't a warm or welcoming smile; it was cold, almost wicked. Her eyes darkened as I stared dumbly at her. She wasn't any bigger than me, yet she'd obviously snapped Embry's neck as if it were a twig.

Her lips twisted into a sneer, and she knelt down into a crouch, hissing at me like some kind of crazed animal. My heart was hammering inside my chest, and no matter how quickly or how deeply I breathed, I couldn't seem to get enough air. My eyes darted from Bree to Jessica and back again. I wanted more than anything to run, but I couldn't fathom leaving Jessica there. She was crying hysterically by then as she struggled beneath Embry's dead weight. He was bigger than the two of us combined, I wasn't sure we could move him without the threat of Bree snarling and hissing at us.

Bree leaned toward Embry, grabbing his lifeless body by his face and yanking him off Jessica. She tossed him aside, as though he weighed nothing. My stomach churned when I saw her examining what appeared to be a piece of his flesh. I assumed she'd ripped it off as she'd thrown him and fought back the bile I felt rising in my throat. I felt the world sway for a moment as the sickening scent of copper, rust and salt overpowered my senses. She threw the chunk of flesh over her shoulder with a shrug and then brought one of her bloody fingers to her nose to smell it. She grimaced and then I saw the pink of her tongue dart out to taste one of her bloody fingers. Her face became even more disgusted and she spat several times, muttering something that sounded a lot like 'filthy dog,' as she wiped her bloody hands off on her jeans.

She looked back up at me, her face suddenly brightening. She flashed me an absolutely dazzling smile and faster than I could register the movement, she had her hand wrapped in Jessica's frizzy brown tresses and was using the handful of hair to force the panic-stricken girl to her feet. I watched the light fade from Embry's eyes again in my mind and knew that there was nothing I could do for Jessica.

I took a faltering step backward, only to feel cold, vise-like arms wrap around my torso from behind. I felt a cool breath against my ear as Felix softly whispered, "Hello again, Izzy. You've been a naughty girl haven't you? Running away from us like that," he chastised, "James has been awfully worried about you."

He ran his cold nose along my jaw and down my neck, inhaling deeply and making a sound somewhere between a hum and a growl. "I have to admit," he continued once he'd retraced his path back to my ear, "you are one of the most delicious smelling humans I've ever encountered. I don't know how James resisted you at all. I suppose we'll just have to hope that I'm as strong-willed as he is hmmm?"

He grabbed a handful of my hair, wrapping it tightly against his fist. He used it to force me to look at Bree. She was watching us, her face alight with sadistic glee. She used her hold on Jessica's hair to yank her closer, allowing Bree to wrap her free arm around Jessica's waist. She pulled Jessica closer still and pulled her hair forcing Jessica's head backward.

"James only wants that one," she said huskily while pointing to me. "Now that that disgusting mutt's dead, what should we do with the extra human?" She leaned down and ran her tongue along the length of Jessica's neck, sending the poor girl into a fresh fit of hysteria.

I felt Felix's rock hard chest tremble before I heard the sound of his dark chuckle. "What would please you my pet?" He asked her.

She smiled up at him, looking much like a child asking for a new toy, or an ice cream from the truck. "I'd very much like to have her," she replied, so softly I barely heard her.

I was consumed by the darkest, most ominous feeling I'd ever had as I felt his chest rumble behind me again. What the hell was wrong with these two? What did she mean she'd like to _have her_?

Unfortunately, my curiosity was quickly allayed.

"I still can't bring myself to deny you anything," he said with what sounded like forced reluctance.

Bree stared in Jessica's eyes and whispered a soft, soothing "Sshhh…"

Immediately Jess' tears subsided, and her pathetic cries quieted. Bree smiled and much to my surprise, Jessica smiled back. Bree dipped her face to Jessica's, appearing to brush a soft kiss across her lips. Jessica sighed and hummed softly in response. When Bree dipped her head down a second time, Jessica wrapped her arms around the crazy girl's neck and willingly returned the kiss.

I felt Felix's grip on my hair tighten as Bree pulled away from a very flushed and panting Jessica. She glanced up at us, smiling wickedly, and then dipped her head to Jessica's one more time. Instead of going in for another kiss, she went for her throat.

Jessica let out a brief, strangled gurgling sound. She struggled against Bree for all of a minute before her body fell limply into her arms. A moment later, Bree dropped Jessica's lifeless body to the ground, mere feet from where Embry's corpse lay.

I gasped, and then felt all the air in my body leave as I noticed Jessica's bloody, mangled throat and the blood dripping from Bree's maniacally upturned mouth. I desperately tried to suck in air, but I just couldn't get enough.

I had no control of my body, or of anything around me. I felt myself being yanked along roughly by my hair and found myself unable to offer any resistance. The two of them spoke, but it was so quick and so quiet that I couldn't understand what they were saying.

I stumbled along between shoves and yanks on my hair, realizing after a moment that we were heading toward the woods. It occurred to me that once we stepped into the cover of the trees, no one would find us. I gathered every ounce of effort I could, and resisted.

I locked my legs and desperately tried to cement my feet to the earth below me. I opened my mouth to scream, but it was silenced before it started as a stinging slap brought a frigid hand to cover my mouth. I felt myself being lifted into the air and was shocked to find Bree holding me up as though I weighed nothing. She had one hand clamped over my mouth and the other holding me up beneath my arm. I had no idea when Felix had released my hair, but my scalp tingled in gratitude.

Bree looked up at me and with a single mind-jarring shake she brought my face less than an inch from her own. Her cool, sweet breath blew out across my face, as she leered. "James wants you alive sweet Izzy, but if you don't behave, there might be an accident before we get you back home. We wouldn't want that would we?"

I couldn't do anything but shake my head in response. I felt the tears start down my cheeks and closed my eyes to stifle them. I watched another mental replay of the light disappearing from Embry's eyes and saw the image of Jessica's mutilated throat. Had I really thought I could fight them? I'd already seen Bree kill two people with seemingly no effort.

James wanted me back bad enough that people would die if they interfered. That realization rocked me to my very core. If I had just gone with him in the first place, Embry and Jessica would still be alive. If I'd never come to Forks, none of this would've happened. Felix and Bree came to Forks looking for me. Their deaths were ultimately my fault.

I felt Bree lift me and sling me across her shoulder. I thought of Leah and Jake and was instantly grateful that they'd been wherever they'd been instead of anywhere near me. I resigned myself to whatever fate had in store for me, certain it would be no worse than I deserved for endangering the ones I cared about, whether it was intentional or not. I wouldn't be responsible for the spilling of any more blood.

I retreated as deeply into myself as I could, Embry and Jessica's deaths playing on a continuous loop in my mind. The only thought I could focus on was that it was entirely my fault. I barely noticed Bree dropping me rather ungraciously onto the forest floor.

I heard voices, four distinctively different, and yet similar and very familiar voices. I forced my eyes open, and a silent _'No!'_ reverberated throughout my head. Standing in front of us, engaging my captors in what appeared to be polite conversation, were Edward and Alice Cullen. There was no way they could know how dangerous these two were.

I couldn't make out their words, but I could see their mouths moving. Their faces were friendly, and unassuming, neither of them giving any indication of having seen me. My mind was a steady stream of _'Dear god not them'_ and _'Please not them too.'_ Other than that, all I could hear was the booming sound of my heart as it pounded erratically in my chest, the noise resounding and echoing in my head.

I covered my ears with my hands, fruitlessly trying to silence the hammering in my head so that I could think. I couldn't let them fall victim to the madness my life had become. I knew that if I tried to warn them, Felix and Bree would kill all of us. I wracked my mind for a way to alert them without attracting any other attention. I silently prayed and swore that if Edward and Alice could escape unharmed, I would gracefully accept whatever James had in store for me without so much as a whimper of complaint. I glanced around for something I could use, but there was nothing except trees and grass.

Suddenly, a thunderous rumbling shook the forest floor as a monstrous, furry creature sprang from the trees behind us. It landed on Bree and with what seemed like an incredibly gentle push I found myself in the waiting arms of Alice. I only got a glimpse of silver fur on a creature resembling a wolf the size of a horse before tiny little Alice Cullen swooped me up bridal style as she took off deeper into the woods at an impossible rate of speed. We moved so fast the trees blurred as we sped past them.

My head was pounding and my ears were ringing as my mind screamed out its protests against the myriad of impossibilities that I'd witnessed in the past half hour. I covered my ears again as the pounding of my heart and the screaming of my mental voice became too much. I felt the pressure inside of me building to a near painful pinnacle and I truly believed that it was going to cause me to explode. The last thing I remember is hearing an ear-piercing scream as I plummeted into an abyss.

**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

My eyes flew open and I jolted upright as the memory faded. Panic stirred within me as I frantically looked around the unfamiliar room. Where had she taken me? The only light provided was that of the moon shining in through the windows that took up the entire wall to my right. I also saw a sliver of light beneath the door that I assumed led out of the room, but I was too frightened by who or what I might find on the other side of the door to approach it.

I gasped and pulled my knees up under myself, preparing to leap off the bed as a distinct, yet soft knocking on the door pierced the silence. I sat there, heart pounding furiously and frozen in fear as I watched the door slowly swing inwardly, illuminating the darkness with a soft white light from the hallway beyond.

"Dad!" I cried out, relief filling my voice as Charlie's frame came into view. I sprung from the bed and made to quickly cross the room. One of the heels of my boots was broken however and so instead of throwing myself into his arms, I fell into him, nearly sending both of us to the floor. I couldn't remember having ever been so glad to see him.

"Bells," he whispered into my hair as he caught me, immediately wrapping me in his warm embrace.

Visions of Embry and Jessica's murders flashed through my mind again, and I hugged him as tightly as I could. Something inside of me burst. Without warning, hot tears streamed down my cheeks and I was overcome with sobs. Their deaths filling me with a sudden and ever-changing myriad of emotions; loss, hopelessness, absolute terror, and worst of all, guilt. I couldn't silence the nagging reminder in the back of my head that it was entirely my fault.

He stroked my hair and made soothing, shushing sounds and whispered reassurances. He held me and tried to comfort me until my sobs subsided and I pulled back to dry my eyes on the filthy, tattered sleeve of my blouse. That was when I noticed our audience.

Standing behind Charlie were two gorgeous men. One I recognized from school as Jasper Hale, one of the adopted 'Cullen kids.' The other I didn't recognize at all. He was tall, lean, blonde and had familiar honey-colored eyes. He appeared older than Jasper, but not by very much, and he carried what appeared to be a black, leather doctor's bag. Jasper offered me a tight smile, and I suddenly felt considerably more relaxed.

The older of the two gently cleared his throat, and Charlie let me go, turning toward the men. "Bells," he said softly, "this here's Dr. Cullen. Alice brought you here this afternoon and he checked you over and took care of ya. He'd like to check you over one more time to make sure you're alright." He gestured toward Jasper and said, "That's Jasper, one of Dr. Cullen's sons. He and his siblings go to your school."

I nodded my acknowledgement at Jasper before returning my attention to Dr. Cullen. His smile seemed genuinely friendly, and I sighed as I felt myself relax further.

"Hello Bella," Dr. Cullen's voice was gentle and soothing as he spoke. "Why don't you have a seat?" He suggested, motioning toward the bed as he stepped into the room. "I'd just like to check over your vitals again," he assured me as he followed me to the bed. He set his bag on the nightstand and turned, smiling down at me. He had a stethoscope hanging around his neck, which he used to listen to my heart rate. He shined a light into my eyes and then took hold of my wrist.

I sucked in a breath and snatched my hand away from his cold one. My heart rate picked up and my chest burned as breathing became difficult. I was instantly assaulted by memories of Felix's cold, vise-like hold on me, Bree's frigid touch, and Alice Cullen's strong, cold arms carrying me as she ran. My eyes darted from Dr. Cullen's hand to his concerned face and back again.

He smiled, and a look, of what appeared to be understanding, crossed his face before he turned to address Charlie.

"She's going to be fine," he assured my father. "I would like to give her something to help her sleep. The rest will undoubtedly do her good, and after the ordeal she's been through it will ensure her undisturbed slumber, no threat of so much as a nightmare. You have my word."

He spoke with a conviction that somehow seemed to exceed his words, and it struck me as odd. I looked to Charlie and found him staring at the doctor with a grim look on his face. His forehead was creased in his 'thoughtful face,' as though he were deliberating over something, I watched his expression become resolute before he finally gave a curt nod to Dr. Cullen.

The doctor returned his nod with a soft smile and reached into his bag withdrawing a small white plastic bottle. He twisted off the cap and shook two tiny white pills out into the lid. He set the uncapped bottle next to his bag and picked up a glass of water I hadn't noticed sitting there, wordlessly offering them to me.

I glanced uncertainly back at Charlie, who smiled reassuringly, and nodded for me to take the offered medication. I felt a brief pang of trepidation but it was gone as quickly as I noticed it, and I felt almost lethargic. The room swooned around me and I was grateful that I was already sitting or I might've collapsed under the intensity of it. I couldn't deny that I was exhausted, and I prayed that a peaceful night of rest would cause the days events to make more sense. Too many impossibilities to consider, I swallowed the pills and the water, replacing the empty glass in the doctor's waiting hand.

Dr. Cullen's smile never wavered as he returned the glass to the nightstand. His eyes were kind and full of compassion and his voice was peaceful and soothing as he spoke. "Why don't you lie back and relax Bella. I need to speak with your father for a few minutes." I felt a faint smile cross my lips and I found myself unable to look away from his golden eyes. He was undoubtedly the best looking doctor I'd ever seen, even cuter than the ones on the soap opera Renee used to watch. I felt the pillow, soft as clouds behind my head, though I couldn't remember lying back.

When my eyes fell closed, I felt as if I was swimming in a golden pool of peace and tranquility, floating far away from fear and grief. Something tugged at the corner of my mind, something I knew I desperately needed to remember, but I dove deeper into the golden pool and succumbed to the peace it provided.

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**A/N2:** Again & as always, Thanks for reading! Now hit the little button & tell me what'cha think.  
Reviews = Teasers  
Oh and ch 16 is going out to the beta tomorrow. I just gotta go over the last paragraph one more time. (After I get some sleep)

XOXO,  
Sonia


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: *sigh* In all honesty, I had decided against publishing this chapter in favor of something more plot progressive. However, barely three pages into the rewriting, I find myself unable to get much done on it and I'm afraid it might be a bit before I can. Hear me out before you start hating on me please.

Recently, my oldest son and I were getting ready to take my youngest son and some of his cubscout friends to the skating rink. We got all the kiddies loaded and as I leaned in to do a quick head count, my oldest son shut the van door on my hand. It was, of course, not intentional, but I'm almost embarassed to say that that didn't stop me from hurling expletives in front of a van full of seven and eight-year-olds. :( I suppose I am fail at chaperoning, but damnit it hurt!

In an effort to keep this A/N reasonable in length, we'll leave it at my right hand is broken and I am SO not left-handed. I'm trying, but between the pain, the painkillers, (which knock me the frick out) and the overall awkwardness, I'm just not getting much done. My daughter has offered to type for me on the weekends, but I'm not sure how well that'll work. We'll see...

I also want to apologize for not responding to a few reviews last chapter. Most of you know that I always respond, or at least try to - I might've missed a couple here and there but I believe prior to last chapter I had something like a 98% response rate... If I missed you, I'm sorry.

So PLEASE bear w/me... I promise I'll do what I can when I can. In the meantime...

As always super huge thx to Twike, who betaed this weeks ago - I would be so very lost w/o her.

* * *

**Prey For Protection**

Chapter Sixteen:

Rosalie

When Edward and Alice walked out of the cafeteria with that dog, I didn't know what to think. I looked over at Jasper and found him staring blankly at the door they'd just walked out of. "What the hell are they doing?" I hissed at him.

"Ali said they were just going to talk to her," he muttered, unhappily. "She was afraid the wolf would be intimidated by any more than two of us."

"What could they possibly want to talk to the wolf about?" I asked, unable to hide my contempt. "Like it's not bad enough the bitch stinks up my favorite boutique and three of my freaking classes. Now what? Eddie and Ali want to invite her to stink up our table at lunch? Oh! Em! Gee! Maybe we can all become BFF's and start our very own supernatural freak show right here in Forks!"

Emmett chuckled and scooted closer, wrapping his enormous arm around my shoulders and tugging me into him. He bent his head down nuzzling my cheek and soothing me in a way that only my Emmett could. "C'mon Rosie, they're just talking. I'm sure they'll give us the 4-1-1 when they get back. Besides," he added with an impish light in his golden eyes, "if they wanna let the mutt stink up the table, we'll just find some place else to go to for lunch everyday. Maybe somewhere a little more private?" He wiggled his brows devilishly, his dimples shining, and I forgot all about the stinking she-wolf. I briefly wondered how much damage we could do to one of the janitor's closets in thirty minutes.

"Could you two tone it down a notch?" Jasper groaned exasperatedly, "As if I'm not getting enough of **that** from a school full of hormonal teenagers."

I smirked, but swatted Em's roaming hand away with a playful wink. He straightened up in his seat and glanced around the cafeteria. He started talking to Jasper about their plans for an upcoming hunting trip out to Goat Rocks, and the next thing I knew the bell was ringing signaling the end of lunch. None of them had returned to the lunchroom. Jasper looked uncomfortable as we all stood and carried our untouched trays of food to the trashcans.

"They probably went straight on to class," Emmett offered, noticing Jasper's tension. "You know how anxious Eddie-boy is to get to his Biology class these days," He snickered.

Jasper shot him a reproachful look as he added his tray to the stack next to the bins. He gave one last glance toward the double doors that led out onto the pavilion, before shoving his hands into his pockets and heading for class.

The rest of the day's classes passed by uneventfully, but when the final bell rang, I found Jasper waiting outside my classroom looking frantic.

"Jazz? What's wrong?" I asked, immediately concerned for my favorite brother. I could only think of one thing that could cause Jasper to look so panicked. "Where's Alice?"

He placed his hand in the small of my back and led me through the hallway, speaking so that no one else could hear him. "She didn't make it to 6th period. I walk passed her class on the way to mine. She always waits outside of her room for me, just so we can see each other for a minute in the hallway. I usually don't even stop walking, just reach out and touch her hand as I walk by, and she smiles and watches me go down the hall." Both his voice and his expression softened momentarily as he spoke. "We do it everyday. This time, she wasn't standing there, so I peeked inside and she wasn't in there either. I waited outside the room and she never showed. I've tried her phone a half-dozen times. No answer."

By that point we were outside, and Emmett was approaching as quickly as he dared amongst so many humans. His expression was grim as he fell in step with Jasper and I. "Jazz you seen Alice?" he asked.

"Not since lunch," Jasper replied. "She didn't go to her 6th period class."

"Edward wasn't in 6th period either. I heard that Newton kid talking and he said Edward and that human girl Bella, both missed 5th period. I asked him about it and he also mentioned that Bella, Jake, and Jessica, the girl the other dog's always trying to hump in the hallway, all missed 6th period Gym class."

Jasper stiffened and his voice came out as a half growl. "It's sounding like none of them have been seen since lunch time. Something must've happened. God damn it," he swore, "I knew not to let her go off without me."

We'd reached the cars; Edward's shiny, silver Volvo sat where he'd left it that morning, parked right next to my sleek, red Beamer. We all stood there silently, looking around the lot for some sign of Edward, Alice, or even one of the wolves. There was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen, just a couple hundred teenagers heading home from yet another day at Forks High School.

Jasper was the one to catch sight of the Police car parked behind the school. I felt an icy chill run down my spine, as my imagination ran with the possibilities we'd encounter when we walked back there. Jasper took off at a jog, moving a little faster than the average human but not fast enough to attract too much attention. Emmett hooked his arm through mine and we took off after Jasper.

Images of the wolves laying in ambush for Alice and Edward as they followed Leah behind the gym flashed behind my eyes. _'If those mangy mutts so much as got a flea on Edward or Alice I will ensure their place on the endangered species list.'_ I silently swore.

Jasper stopped dead in his tracks as he made to round the corner of the gym. His hand went up over his nose and mouth and he staggered for a moment, as though he'd been hit in the chest. The breeze shifted and Jasper dropped to his knees as the scent of fresh blood wafted over me. Jasper was clawing at the ground with his free hand, digging his fingers into the earth as he fought to restrain himself.

"Take him back to the cars Em, otherwise whatever happened is going to go from bad to worse." Emmett nodded and sprinted the remaining distance between Jasper and us. He grabbed hold of Jasper, and started leading him back the way we'd come.

I watched them go and held my breath as I turned and continued behind the gym. There was police tape marking off a large section of the woods as well as most of the field inside of the track. I gasped when I saw what appeared to be two bodies covered with black tarps. Immediately I regretted the reaction, the scent of wet dog, and both tainted and untainted blood was thick in the air. My throat was enveloped in an inferno, and my mouth suddenly overflowing with venom.

My instinct was to run, get away from the temptation. I took a step backwards, contemplating fleeing before I did something I knew I'd regret, when I noticed a man that looked a lot like an older version of the Quileute wolf boys, standing near the trees and talking to one of the police officers.

I inhaled lightly, testing the air as well as my control, and I picked up both Edward and Alice's scents. I also smelled the all too familiar smell of burnt vampire flesh. I choked on a sob, at that moment noticing the purplish haze wafting through the trees.

I stepped across the yellow police tape and stormed toward the Quileute man. The wet dog smell got stronger, as did Edward Alice's scent. I also noticed the smell of unfamiliar vampires, and I felt another shudder run down my spine. I reached the man and after giving him a death glare I simply said, "Walk with me."

He looked confused for a moment until I sent a pointed look to the police officer still standing right next to him. He sighed and excused himself, leading me away from the others. Once we were safely out of earshot he stopped and turned to me with a contemptible expression. "What do you want?" he demanded.

I didn't know who the hell he thought he was, but I was in no mood for his bullshit. "What I want is to know what the fuck is going on here," I snarled at him. I have two siblings missing since lunch; I come back here and I find bodies, the smell of charbroiled vampire, and you. Now if you don't deserve to die, I'd say you have about thirty seconds to tell me what happened. Otherwise, I'll rip your fucking head off and shove it up your ass based on the circumstantial evidence alone." I looked down at my wristwatch and back up at his shocked face impatiently.

"Wha- who…" he stammered. "You're one of the Cullens right?" he asked.

"I am," I replied, "Tick. Tock."

"Look," he said, taking a step backwards, "here's what I know that concerns you. You're… siblings, if that's what you call them, are fine. One of them ran off with a human girl, and the other took off with one of our people. I think they went to the Cullen house, err your house. The vampires that died were not members of your coven. Now. You need to tell your leader that Leah is to be returned to us immediately. If she isn't, we will come for her and bring her back by force. We appreciate that your… siblings… assisted her in her fight, but her place is with her people. Her father is a tribal elder and will not tolerate his flesh and blood being left unprotected in the hands of leeches, regardless of how harmless they claim to be."

"If Leah is your stinky she-wolf, and if she's at my house I can assure you she won't be there long. I may have to tolerate the stench of you foul cretins in school, and I may not be able to avoid the vile smell of you on my shopping excursions from time to time, but I'll be damned if I'll be stunk out of my own home."

Anxious to reassure Jasper with what I knew and get home to make sure that Edward and Alice were all right, I spun on my heel and hurried back across the field toward the parking lot. I didn't breath again until I stepped onto the asphalt.

When I arrived back at our cars, the lot was nearly empty. Jasper looked up on hearing my approach, his eyes met mine and I forced a smile onto my face. "Fucking do-gooders. They just had to go and get involved in the wolves' drama. They're at home. Apparently they wanted souvenirs from their adventure, and we're now the proud owners of our very own dog. I hear it even came with it's own human to walk it and feed it and shit."

Both Emmett and Jasper looked at me like I was nuts, although Em's expression was amused, whereas Jazz was just confused. I rolled my eyes and gestured toward my car, "get in, I'll explain what I know on the way home."

"If they were heading for a fight why would they leave us behind?" Emmett pouted after I'd repeated what I'd been told. He was unable to focus on anything other than the fact that he'd 'missed out on all the fun.' He sulked for half the drive home, grumbling about 'being left out.'

During the drive home, Jasper called Alice's phone fourteen times, swearing under his breath every time it went to voicemail. He was in a much better state than he had been in, but Jasper wasn't one to take reassurance from anything less than the source, especially where Alice was concerned.

The chief of police was pulling out of our driveway as I approached it, preparing to turn in. He threw up a hand in a distracted half wave as he passed us and I returned the gesture. I parked in the garage and Jasper almost tripped over himself trying to get out of the car. We hurried into the house and the scent of wet dog greeted us at the two. I immediately heard the sounds of two distinctive heartbeats, and knew the Quileute had been telling the truth.

We'd no more than walked through the door when Carlisle called all of us to the dining room. Alice came flitting down the stairs and rushed into Jasper's waiting arms. He picked her up and hugged her tightly to his chest, murmuring into her ear and covering her face in kisses. He carried her into the dining room and took his seat, pulling her onto his lap.

Emmett and I took our seats across from Alice and Jasper; Esme sat in the chair to Carlisle's right and Edward to his left. Once we were all seated, Carlisle looked around at us and smiled one of his most dazzling smiles. _'Oh shit,'_ I thought, _'whatever this is, it's big. Daddy's pulling out the high wattage charm.'_

Edward looked at me and smirked the way only a mind reading know-it-all can. I narrowed my eyes at him, hoping to knock the smirk off his face. He rolled his eyes at me dismissively, knowing damn well how much that shit annoyed me, and returned his attention to Carlisle. _'Don't you fucking roll your eyes at me Edward Cullen,'_ I silently shouted at him. _'Jazz and Emmett were worried shitless about you two. You have some serious explaining to do.'_

"I suppose," Carlisle began, interrupting the mental brow beating I was bestowing on my oldest brother. "The best way to bring this matter to the table, so to speak, is to begin at the beginning."

I turned my attention to Carlisle and listened as he and Edward explained the story of the human girl whose childhood sweetheart was turned into a vampire. The newborn vampire apparently became obsessed with the human girl and had been stalking her and making threats on her life for the past year. Carlisle told us what he'd learned from the Quileutes during their meeting and Edward supplied us with additional facts he'd picked up from the thoughts of the wolves. While I couldn't deny it made a fascinating, albeit twisted tale. I had no idea how any of it related to any of us.

That's when Alice spoke up. She'd had a vision of the human girl, Bella Swan, being attacked by unknown vampires at Forks High School.

Jasper tensed at this, staring at her in disbelief as she acknowledged the danger she'd knowingly walked into. She winced slightly and lowered her head shamefully at the grief she knew she'd caused him. She looked back up at him, her eyes pleading for understanding as she said, "She was going to die Jasper."

Without hesitation, Jasper firmly but quietly replied, "Better her than you Alice, better anyone than you."

Alice's lips twisted into a faint half smile as she shook her head. "I knew I would be fine, and Jazzy… I'm going to love her someday. She's going to be the best friend I've ever had."

Before I had a chance to ask her what that was supposed to mean, Edward picked up the tale again. He told us about hearing Bella's scream and the three of them - himself, Alice and the dog, running off to find the human girl in the clutches of two vampires. He explained how Leah planned the attack from outside the trees while he and Alice kept the vamps distracted, and how she sprang through the trees attacking one of the vamps while knocking the human to safety.

Jasper's tension subsided more as he learned that Alice's role in the events had been simply to get the human girl to safety. Edward shot him a look and asked, "Did you really think I'd allow her to jeopardize herself?" Jasper said nothing, but let out a deep breath and a mildly sheepish expression crossed his face. Alice rolled her eyes and the overall mood in the room lightened considerably.

Carlisle cleared his throat, a human action that served him no purpose other than gaining our attention. "Yes. Well, now that we're all up to speed on the events leading up to now, I suppose I should tell you why I called you all here."

"Prior to today the human girl was completely unaware of the supernatural world her world had collided with. Her father on the other hand, Police Chief Swan, was entrusted with the wolves' secret, and they made him aware of the existence of vampires as well as their theory that it was in fact our kind that they were up against. Unbeknownst to her, Isabella has been under the protection of the wolves since arriving in Forks."

Carlisle paused and looked around the table, gauging our reactions to the story so far. I glanced around and saw Esme with her hand over her dead heart; the perpetual mother, her heart obviously went out to the girl. Edward had a strange look of determination on his face. Jasper wasn't looking anywhere but at Alice, who was watching Esme with an odd grin on her face.

"Oh Carlisle," Esme asked, her voice thick with emotion, "is there anything we can do to help them?"

"What?" I asked, louder than I originally intended. "Since when do we go getting involved in other people's drama?"

"Rose," Carlisle started, his expression considerably more stern than his words. "Truth be told there are several reasons for us to get involved. First and foremost she is an innocent child being hunted down and threatened by creatures she has no chance of defeating and that simply makes us offering our assistance the right thing to do. If that one doesn't appease you there's the question of how many other innocents will die should there be another attack? A human child and a young Quileute died today Rosalie. When will it be enough to attract the attention of the Volturi? Or perhaps we'll be lucky enough to stay under their scope and we'll only have to pack up and move again." He looked at me, silently urging me to understand, When he spoke again, his voice was so low no human would've heard him, even if they'd been standing right beside him. "If we have the power to prevent death and we do not, are we not as guilty as those doing the killing?"

I looked away, unable to hold his gaze as he addressed the entire table again. "I'd like us to offer our assistance to Chief Swan and his daughter. It will mean telling him the truth about our family, but since he already knows about the existence of vampires, we won't technically be breaking the law."

"What makes you so sure he'll even listen to anything you have to say beyond 'I think you should know we're vampires'?" Jasper asked.

"We have to address the situation very carefully," Alice cut in, "but if we handle it right, he won't totally freak out." She looked around the table at each of us, a faint smile playing at her lips, "I've seen it."

"Bullshit," I scoffed at my miniature sister. "Look, if the other vampires come and attract the Volturi's attention that's their problem, not ours. Unless we get involved. Then it becomes our problem too. I don't even know the girl. I think we should mind our own business."

"How can you be so-" Edward started, but Carlisle interrupted him.

"The only fair way to handle this is to put it to a vote. Do we offer our assistance and protection, if it comes to that, to Charlie Swan and his daughter? I must say that I cannot guarantee that there will be no danger in doing so, but I, for one, am simply not comfortable doing nothing." He raised his right hand into the air, in typical Cullen family vote tradition, and said, "I say we help the Swan's. Agree or Disagree?" He then turned to us, one by one, for our vote.

Esme's hand was immediately in the air as she chimed in her, "Agree."

Alice's hand was in the air before Esme spoke, and she was just as quick to add her earnest "Agree."

Jasper on the other hand, sat slouched in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. He was looking at Alice, who was smiling at him sadly. "I just can't bring myself to vote in favor of potentially going to war with some unknown coven of vampires over a dispute that doesn't involve us in any way shape or form."

"But Jazzy-" Alice started, but he silenced her with a hand in the air.

"I heard you say that you're going to love her someday Ali," his voice softened, "but you have to hear me saying that I love you now, and I will not put you in the line of danger, especially not over some human drinker's runaway snack." There were several gasps from around the table at that, "I know it sounds harsh damn it, but you, Alice, are my number one priority and because of that I have no choice but to vote with that in mind." He straightened in his chair, looked to Carlisle, and said, "Disagree."

I busied myself inspecting my manicure, sparing another glance at Jasper before looking up at Carlisle. "Disagree," I said, and without further explanation I returned my attention to my fingernails.

Emmett shifted in his seat beside me. "Well," he began, "I for one am always up for a fight, so I say-" I delivered a swift kick under the table to his shin, interrupting his sentence. Was he really going to vote against me? He cried out and met my narrowed gaze as he rubbed the offended spot on the front of his leg. His shoulders slumped a little before he looked away and said, "Disagree."

I couldn't help smirking a bit until I realized why Alice hadn't been overly upset by Jasper voting no. The vote was tied 3/3 and the only vote left was Edward's. I groaned at the realization, and was pushing myself back from the table before he'd fully vocalized his, "I agree."

"Wonderful," Carlisle clasped his hands together in victory. "Alice have you determined our best plan of attack in regards to breaking the news to Charlie and Bella?"

I stormed out of the dining room, and through the foyer. I started up the stairs but the stink of wet dog nearly knocked me backward before I was halfway up the steps. I stopped and growled in frustration, before spinning on my heel and storming right back into the dining room.

"So we're going to help the human. Fine. So we're going to tell them we're vampires and hope they don't run away screaming before we get to the part about being vegetarians. Fine. But god damn it, someone needs to take the stinking dog out." I demanded.

"Rose," Esme chided, "language please."

Emmett snickered and even Jasper almost smiled. I rolled my eyes, opting to ignore them and looked at Carlisle expectantly, "it's not staying here is it?"

"She. Rosalie, and for a while, yes," Carlisle replied. "She was severely injured in her fight to protect the human girl. I think the two of them might even be something of a package deal."

"You're kidding right?" I demanded.

"I'm afraid not Rose, so you might want to think about getting used to the idea," Carlisle informed me.

"Alice, can you see whether or not Chief Swan is having any luck in La Push?" Alice closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them smiling brightly. "Oh he'll get the paper signed alright," she said knowingly.

"Very well. Edward, if you would come assist me, I'm quite certain we'll have time to get her to the hospital, get her x-rayed and get her back before the chief returns. What do you think Alice?"

Again the pixie closed her eyes and after a couple of moments she reopened them and said, "Well, I can't see you at the hospital, but I do see you back here when Chief Swan arrives."

Carlisle nodded and he and Edward hurried up the stairs. He called back down for Emmett to pull his Mercedes around to the front door for him and Emmett got up to do so.

A moment later, Edward and Carlisle were coming down the stairs carrying a very ragged and battered version of the once-beautiful she-wolf I'd seen so many times in school. I gasped at the extent of her obvious physical injuries, and wondered if she'd had any idea what she was getting herself into when she jumped through those trees.

Edward looked up, and with an odd expression on his face he said, "She knew exactly what she was doing."

I looked away and heard Carlisle asking Alice to keep running through scenarios until she found the best way for us to approach the chief of police. She agreed and watched them carry the girl out to the car, waving them off as they pulled away.

She turned away from the window, and met my gaze, her expression sad, almost pained. "Rose," she started softly, "I know that what happened to you still haunts you, even after all these years. Ask yourself something for me. Had someone been able to stop Royce, wouldn't you have wanted them to? Can you imagine someone having the power to stop it, but choosing not to get involved? James wants to take away Bella's life and use her for his own purposes, whether he wants her as a mate or a snack, he has no right to her life. Just like Royce had no right to yours." She smiled weakly, and turned to head upstairs, leaving me speechless in the foyer.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Edward

Carlisle pulled up to the emergency entrance of Forks General Hospital and left the engine running as he hurried in through the automatic doors. He quickly commandeered a gurney and returned to the car a moment later. We maneuvered Leah onto it and he deftly rolled her inside while I moved his Mercedes into a parking spot.

There was no one in Radiology, so we went straight in and got her prepped for the x-rays. We repositioned her several times and he took dozens of pictures. Afterwards, he took time to write up several prescriptions for both Leah and Bella and sent me to the pharmacy to have them filled while he processed the x-ray films.

The pharmacist was nowhere to be seen when I first arrived, so I pressed the call button and waited… and waited. I was just reaching forward to press the button again when a petite, frazzled looking, woman in a lab coat came rushing around the corner. Her dark-hair was pulled on top of her head in a messy bun with several strands having fallen loose. She apologized profusely as she took the prescriptions from me and pointed to the blue plastic chairs across the hall suggesting I have a seat while she set about filling the order.

By the time I returned, not only had Carlisle finished processing and printing the x-rays, he'd also taken time to run a CT scan on Leah's head and arranged to have some additional equipment sent to the house for him to use there. Soon after, we were carefully settling Leah back into the backseat of Carlisle's car and preparing to head back home.

Leah remained unconscious the entire time. A fact Carlisle and I were both grateful for; neither of us suspected she'd make a very cooperative patient. Her thoughts remained ruddy, kaleidoscopic flashes of people and places both strange and familiar.

When we returned to the house, we carried her back up the stairs and into the guest room. Esme had come in during our absence and put fresh sheets on the bed. We got Leah settled into bed and I quietly followed Carlisle back out of the room. He peeked in on Bella to ensure that she was resting peacefully before heading back down the stairs.

I sat at my piano and absent-mindedly caressed the keys while Carlisle disappeared into his study to peruse Leah's x-rays. Emmett and Rosalie were just returning from an impromptu hunt when Alice came dancing down the stairs, Jasper trailing right behind her. She bounced down off from the bottom step with a bright smile as she sang out, "family meeting!"

I felt myself smile as I listened to her mentally go over her plan, and watched the vision she had that confirmed the best reaction we could possibly hope for from Chief Swan. We all made our way back into the dining room, and resumed our places around the table.

Carlisle was the last to join us. He took his seat at the head of the table, glancing at each of us thoughtfully before turning his full attention to Alice, who was practically bouncing in her chair.

Alice gave a worried glance toward Emmett and Rosalie, and then immediately went into explaining what she thought would be the best way to approach Chief Swan with our news. As she spoke, I paid close attention to Rose, expecting nothing short of an outburst from her as Alice detailed her plan.

Her thoughts however surprised me, as she reflected on her own past, comparing her situation with Royce to that of Bella and James. She thoroughly dreaded doing what Alice assured us we each needed to do, but she remained uncharacteristically quiet.

No sooner than Alice had finished explaining her plan and the reaction she saw Chief Swan have to the news, the sound of a car pulling onto our private drive reached my ears.

Alice bounded up from her seat, with a singsong 'It's ti-ime!" and danced off to answer the door before the car made it all the way up the drive. She was a bit more excited than the situation called for.

"Let's give the man a moment Alice," Carlisle softly chastised her. "I'm quite certain he'll want to check in on the girls first."

Alice twirled around again, looking very much like a dancing six-year-old, before grabbing the doorknob and swinging the front door wide before the chief of police even had the opportunity to knock. "Hello Chief Swan," she sang.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Carlisle led the Police Chief upstairs, calling Jasper to accompany them to ensure that the emotionally charged climate remained as pleasant as possible. The rest of us remained seated and listened in on the exchange that took place upstairs. When I realized Bella had woken up I had to resist the urge to rush up the stairs myself.

After Bella was again sedated, both medicinally and with a little help from Jasper, Carlisle led Charlie to the guest room to check on Leah. Just a few moments later Carlisle, Charlie and Jasper came back down the stairs.

Carlisle informed Charlie that there were a few things that he wanted to discuss with him, and led him back into the dining room where the rest of us were waiting. He pointed to the empty seat at the end of the table, and Charlie joined us, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

Esme offered him refreshments, but he offhandedly declined. His thoughts were focused on his daughter. He was terrified as to the sort of reaction she'd have once she was no longer under the effects of the medication. He worried as to exactly what she'd seen and how much he'd have to tell her. He looked around the room and sighed before clearing his throat, "Alright doc," he said turning his attention to Carlisle, "what was it you needed to talk to me about?"

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As always, thanks to each and every one of you for reading & an extra special thanks to those of you that review.

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